The rupee was off its one-month high as it closed 7 paise weaker at 60.22 against the dollar amid mild dollar outflows in the domestic market. The local currency opened at 60.10 per dollar against its Friday’s close of 60.15.
During the intra-day trade, the rupee strengthened to as much as 60 per dollar, for the first time since April 9. This prompted the importers to buy more dollars thereby weighing on the rupee. It declined to 60.25 in the late afternoon trades at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market.
“Demand for dollars from oil importers and some corporates put pressure on the rupee,” said a dealer with a public sector bank. Currency traders expect capital flows to continue impacting the rupee in the run-up to the national election results due on May 16.
Amid high volatility, the overnight call money rate (the rate at which banks borrow money from each other to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches) opened sharply higher at 7.05 per cent against the previous close of 7.50 per cent. The call money market moved in a wide range of 7.05 to 8.35 per cent.
The yield on 10-year benchmark 8.83 per cent bond, maturing in 2023, softened 7 basis points to 8.73 per cent against Friday's close of 8.80 per cent. Bond prices rose sharply to Rs 100.59 from Rs 100.13. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.