MUMBAI, June 14 (Reuters) – The Indian rupee closed nearly unchanged on Friday as intervention from the Indian central bank prevented it from hitting a lifetime low even as a broadly stronger dollar pressured most Asian currencies.
The rupee closed at 83.5550 against the U.S. dollar, barely changed from its close at 83.5425 in the previous session. The currency was down 0.2% week-on-week.
State-run banks were spotted selling dollars to support the rupee, likely on behalf of the RBI, traders said.
Regular interventions from the Indian central bank across market segments this week have helped the rupee stay above it record low of 83.5750 hit in April.
For the dollar-rupee pair, “upside shall be capped around 83.70 and, on the downside, support lies around 83.30-40 zone,” Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex said.
Meanwhile, dollar-rupee forward premiums rose with the 1-year implied yield up 3 basis points at 1.63%, aided by interbank paying in near-forwards and a dip in US bond yields.
The 10-year U.S. treasury yield was hovering close to its lowest level since April after softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data supported bets of a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
Despite choppy price action on most Asian currencies through this week, the rupee was rangebound between 83.47 and 83.57.
Save for unanticipated large inflows or outflows, future price action on the rupee will largely depend on how the RBI acts, a foreign exchange trader at a foreign bank said.
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Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
