Rupee loses 6 paise

The rupee on Thursday ended the day at 44.64 levels to a dollar, weaker by around six paise compared to its close at 44.70 levels on Wednesday. The currency opened the day stronger but fell to an intra-day low of 44.60 vis-a-vis the greenback on account of heavy selling from MNC banks such as Citibank and Bank of America.

However, once it grew stronger, players such as HSBC turned into buyers of the dollar. The weakening of the dollar against major currencies like the euro and other Asian currencies also boosted the rupee to gain, but intervention from the RBI did arrest further gains.

Apart from this, there was also demand for dollars from oil companies which capped further gains on the rupee. Forward premia rose marginally, with the yield on the one-month premia ending the day at 2.03% (1.96%). The yield on the six-month premia closed at 2.1% (2.05%) and that on the one-year premia ended at 2% (1.98%).