Rupee ends flat at 40.44 per dollar

Mumbai, Jul 9: The Rupee ended flat at 40.44 against the previous close of 40.44/45 per dollar with the market witnessing a dull day keeping currency value range bound above 40.45.

Rupee initiated firm at 40.38/40 per dollar with the capital inflows remaining strong to equities and drew strength from a weak dollar to maintain prominence as Asia's major currency.

''The Reserve Bank of India seems to be supporting Rupee's gains by staying away from the Forex market. Rupee is likely to rise upto 40.35 tomorrow and may even go over 40.00 within next few months,'' said Naveen Raghuvanshi, Senior Forex Dealer, Development Credit Bank.

However, the strong Rupee has adversely affected the export segment, which has been suffering from the currency appreciation since the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, forward premia fell further today as six month premia was quoted at 1.74(2.48) while annualised premia closed at 1.83(2.37).

The Reserve Bank today fixed the reference rate at Rs 40.41 per US dollar, up by five paise compared to its Friday's rate of Rs 40.46 per USD.

Rupee staged weaker during the day against major world currencies. Against Euro it ended at 54.91/92(54.85) per unit, at 81.20/21(81.05) against Pound Sterling and ended stronger at 32.64/65(32.70) per 100 units each.

UNI