MUMBAI: The Indian rupee settled little changed on Monday, supported by likely US dollar sales by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) while rupee forwards premiums retreated amid a rise in US bond yields.
The rupee ended at 83.3925 against the dollar, barely changed from its close at 83.3850 in the previous session. The unit was in a narrow 83.3750-83.3925 range during the session.
The central bank was intermittently supplying dollars through much of the session, a foreign exchange trader at a private bank said.
“It’s a rangebound market... with the RBI on one side and all the (dollar) buyers on the other,” Anil Bhansali, head of treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors, said. The dollar index ticked up to 104 while Asian currencies fell, with the Korean won leading losses down by nearly 0.8%. Meanwhile, rupee forward premiums declined, with the 1-year implied yield falling to 1.60% pressured by an uptick in US Treasury yields amid paring of bets the Federal Reserve could begin easing rates as soon as March next year.