The Rupee Bounced Back By 18 Paise - March 24, 2009

The rupee bounced back by 18 paise and closed at 50.45/46 as against the greenback due to rally in local stocks due to increased capital inflows amid a weakening dollar overseas. Also the dollar buying by the oil companies, however, put pressure on the rupee. The domestic currency moved in a limited range of 50.40 and 50.66 during the day after resuming stronger at 50.48/50 a dollar from its Friday''s close of 50.63/64 a dollar.

The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for the dollar at Rs 50.52 and for the euro at Rs 69.11. The rupee premiums on the forward dollar closed lower due to continued receivings by the exporters. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in August closed at 86-88 paise lower from 86-1/2-88-1/2 paise on Friday. In line with this, the far-forwards maturing in February also closed down at 134-136 paise from 137-139 paise previously.

In cross-currency trade, the rupee dropped against the pound sterling to close the day at Rs 73.71/73 from its previous close of Rs 73.08/10. Also it dipped against the euro to Rs 68.82/84 from its previous close of Rs 68.76/78. However, the rupee closed sharply higher against the Japanese yen at Rs 52.11/13 per 100 yen from its last weekend''s close of Rs 53.07/09 per 100 yen.