Rupee touches new 9 yr peak during intra-day, RBI intervenes

Mumbai, July 24: The Rupee touched a nine-year high of 40.2050 per dollar during the intra-day, rising sharply by nearly 8 paise from the yesterday's close of 40.28/29 per dollar, before ending the day at 40.25/26.

The Rupee had touched a high of 40.23 on Monday, which was breached today to reach 40.20. The Rupee had reached this level last in May, 1998.

The Rupee opened at 40.27/28 and started gaining on continued capital inflows and a globally weak dollar. The unit touched the new nine-year peak at around 1230 hrs, but the Reserve Bank intervened at this point and pulled the Rupee back to lower margins.

The Forward premia margins improved today as the six-month premia ended at 0.92 (0.65) per cent, while the annualised premia ended at 1.27 (1.24) per cent.

The Rupee fell marginally against major world currencies today.

Against the Euro, it ended at 55.63/64 (55.58). Against Pound Sterling, it closed at 82.91/92 (82.85), while against the Japanese Yen, it was quoted at 33.26/27 (33.19) per hundreds unit each.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today fixed the reference rate at Rs 40.24 per US dollar, up by 10 paise compared to its yesterday's rate of Rs 40.34 per USD.

UNI