Rupee ends steady amid downward pressure

Reuters: The rupee ended steady on Wednesday as dollar inflows into a foreign bank through bond buying by foreigners offset importer dollar demand, dealers said.

The rupee ended steady at 141.00/05 per dollar. “The rupee is under pressure with import demand but nobody wants to sell above 141.00,” said a currency dealer who asked not to be named. Heavy Government spending is also putting pressure on the rupee, dealers said. The rupee hit a record low of 141.40 per dollar on 28 September, but recovered slightly after a state-run bank sold dollars.

Commercial banks parked Rs. 66.7 billion ($473.22 million) of surplus liquidity on Wednesday, using the Central Bank’s deposit facility, Central Bank data showed.