The rupee ended a tad higher at 59.04 against the dollar after banks and exporters sold the American currency as it weakened overseas. The domestic unit opened stronger at 58.81 from Thursday’s close of 59.11 after the RBI measures helped mop up liquidity from the system, helping banks to sell dollars and boost the rupee. Further, dollar weakness against other Asian currencies also supported the Indian currency. The American unit was trading at a five-week low after a US newspaper report suggested that the Federal Reserve would next week debate the possibility of keeping domestic interest rates low for a long time. The rupee touched a high of 58.69 a dollar in intra-day trade. However, month-end dollar demand weighed on the rupee, nudging it down to 59.10 in late afternoon trading. “The RBI measures will help the rupee temporarily and it will limit volatility. However, concerns over inflation, current account deficit and growth are likely to persist and the appreciation will be capped to that extent. The rupee is likely to trade around 58-59 levels in the short term,” said Hariprasad M.P., Head-Treasury, CentrumDirect. The rupee gained more than 1.5 per cent during the week.
Call, G-Sec rates rise sharply
Inter-bank call money rates ended sharply higher at 9.75 per cent from the previous close of 6.30 per cent. The call money market moved in the 9-10.25 per cent range. The 7.16 per cent benchmark government security (G-Sec), which matures in 2023, ended further up at Rs 93.31 from 93.11. Yields softened to 8.16 per cent from the close of 8.19 per cent on Thursday. According to experts, repo and interbank call money rates are likely to jump in the short term till the RBI measures are in place.