The rupee slipped on Thursday as the central bank and a large state-run utility bought dollars, traders said. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which stayed away from the currency market between April and June, resumed its rupee-selling intervention last month after China's decision to revalue the yuan briefly lifted the Indian currency to a six-year peak.
The partially convertible rupee, which has now lost nearly 1 percent since scaling the July peak, closed at 43.5250/5275 per dollar, 0.19 percent weaker than its previous close of 43.440/445.
"The story was again one of sustained buying (of dollars) by state-run banks, which moved in when the rupee was at the 43.435 level," a trader at a state-run bank said. "A large lot bought for a government company also added to pressure on the rupee."
Traders linked the purchase to efforts to revive the $2.9 billion Dabhol power project, which has been idle in the western state of Maharashtra since 2001 after a dispute between previous owner Enron Corp and the sole consumer, the state-run utility.
Comments
Comments are closed.