Rupee ends higher on inward remittances

Reuters - The rupee ended firmer on Friday as inward remittances and exporter dollar sales surpassed mild dollar demand from importers, dealers said.

The spot rupee, which was traded at 153.02 per dollar during the day, ended at 152.80/90 per dollar, compared with Thursday’s close of 152.95/153.05.

“The demand (for dollar) eased since banks met the dollar requirement over the last two days to service the takeovers,” said a currency dealer requesting anonymity.

“There were not many sellers, but remittance flow was there (today) being Friday.”

Dealers said the rupee was under pressure with some equity-related transactions.

After market hours on Wednesday, diversified conglomerate Hayleys PLC said it will purchase 61.73% of Singer Sri Lanka PLC for Rs. 10.9 billion ($71.27 million) from Retail Holdings (Sri Lanka) BV a subsidiary of Retail Holdings.

The rupee has been under pressure since January after the Central Bank stopped defending the currency and started buying dollars to build up the country’s depleted foreign currency reserves.

The island nation saw Rs. 16.7 billion ($109.26 million) of net inflows into equities up to Friday’s close, and Rs. 6.6 billion worth inflows into government securities as of 6 September, official data showed.