Rupee inches higher as importers cap gains from foreign banks' dollar sales
rupee ended slightly higher on Tuesday as dollar demand from importers capped gains that came on the back of likely inflows, traders said.
The rupee ended at 82.9625 against the U.S. dollar, higher by 0.06% compared to its close at 83.0150 in the previous session.
While the rupee rose to an intra-day high of 82.9225, it shed most of its gains near the end of the session, pressured by dip-buying demand (on the dollar-rupee pair) from importers, including local oil companies, traders said.
The dollar index fell to 104.16, while most Asian currencies weakened, with the Thai baht leading losses.
The rupee's divergence was aided by likely dollar inflows, a foreign exchange trader at a private bank said.
Overall, the bias remains for a slightly stronger rupee but we saw dollar demand from importers near 82.90 levels, which is continuing to limit gains, the trader said.
While the Chinese yuan weakened initially after China cut its benchmark mortgage rate, major state-owned banks were seen selling dollars to arrest the losses.
«This kind of monetary easing has a generally higher impact on the property market, but once again markets have shown little enthusiasm,» ING Bank stated in a note, referring to China's measures.
With a relatively light economic data release calendar this week, the focus will be on the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting due to be released during U.S. trading hours on Wednesday.
Additionally, investors will listen closely to remarks from Fed officials for cues on their
