Rupee drops another ten paise against USD

Mumbai, Feb 5 (UNI) The Rupee today further dropped by ten paise against the US dollar to close weaker at 39.55/56 from its previous close of 39.45/46 on strong demand for dollars in the forex market.

The partially convertible Indian currency shed strength against greenback for the second-straight day, driven by sustained dollar buying amidst suspected intervention by the Reserve Bank of India, dealers said.

The local unit traded in a wide range-band between 39.41 and 39.56 per dollar before closing weaker in late trade on a good amount of purchases of dollar from foreign banks. Dealers maintained that the refunds from Reliance Power IPO offerings also seem to creating pressure on the Indian unit.

Meanwhile, the forward primia for six months closed lower at 1.20 (1.58) per cent and annualised primia closed at 1.30 (1.50) per cent. The Reserve Bank of India today fixed the reference rate for the US dollar slightly higher at Rs 39.43 from previous Rs 39.38.

The Indian unit ended firm at 57.98/99 (58.33/34) against the Euro. Rupee closed firm at 77.80/81 (78.80/81) per unit against the Pound Sterling. Similarly, Rupee ended firm at 36.73/74 (36.83/85) per hundred units against the Japanese Yen.

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