Indian Rupee Slips But State-Run Banks' Dollar Sales Cap Losses

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The Indian rupee weakened slightly on Tuesday, tracking a decline in its Asian peers, but its losses were limited by mild dollar sales by state-run banks, traders said.

The rupee was at 83.9325 (Dh22.8698) as of 10.10am IST, against a close of 83.90 (Dh22.8610) in the previous session.

Month-end dollar bids from importers weighed on the rupee in early trading, but state-run banks were present on offer, blunting the impact, a trader at a foreign bank said.

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While current levels are "their (Reserve Bank of India's) zone" to offer dollars, state-run banks didn't appear to be acting on the central bank's behalf on Tuesday, the trader said.

The RBI has routinely intervened this month to ensure that the rupee doesn't fall below the 84 handle. The currency had touched its record low of 83.9725 (Dh22.8807) on August 7.

The dollar index was little changed at 100.8 while Asian currencies were down between 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent.

The rupee is expected to "trade in a 83.80-83.95 range intraday with sideways price action", FX advisory firm IFA Global said in a note.

Meanwhile, dollar-rupee forward premiums slipped from multi-month highs hit in the previous session, pressured by an uptick in US bond yields.

The 1-year implied yield was down 2 basis points (bps) at 2.10 per cent. The 1-year Treasury yield rose 5 bps to 4.46 per cent in Asia trading.

With Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell having signalled that the US central bank will begin to cut rates next month, investors are focussed on whether it will deliver a 25 bps or a 50 bps cut.

Investors have currently priced in nearly 100 bps of rate cuts over the Fed's next three meetings in 2024 , meaning they expect a 50 bps cut at one of the meetings.

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