Rupee holds steady

MUMBAI, DEC. 7. The rupee ended quietly steady against the U.S. currency today on late unwinding of long dollar positions by banks after early pressure threatened to cut-short a three- session brief rally at the inter-bank foreign exchange market.

The Indian unit closed at Rs. 46.75/76 a dollar, unchanged from Wednesday's level, following an early dip to intra-day low of 46.78/79 due to banks taking long dollar positions in anticipation of dollar demand from corporates and importers.

The rupee opened on a weak note at 46.76/77 and traded in a range of 46.7500 and 46.7850 in cautiously active two-way movements.

Banks went long on the dollar in early trading, expecting dollar demand from corporates and importers later in the day, but in the absence of follow-up buying interest, they later unwound long dollar positions, dealers said. Dollar supplies were adequate to meet the limited demand, they added.

``Cash demand for dollars exerted fresh pressure on the rupee in the morning, pushing it down to 46.78/79 and threatened to cut- short a three-day smart rally. However, the demand later petered out in the face of fresh dollar sales," a forex dealer said.

Although the rupee has not posted further gains today, sentiment continues to be positive, given the falling global oil prices and healthy forex reserves, bankers said.

- PTI

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