India Forex - Forex Trading in India

India Tuesday 9 February 2010: Rupee rose on Tuesday retreating from a seven-week low touched in the previous session as mostly strong Asian peers lifted sentiment even as local shares traded marginally weaker.

At 9:20 am, the partially convertible rupee was at 46.71/72, stronger than its close of 46.83/84 on Monday. Dealers said they expected the rupee to move in 46.60/90 range during the day. * Most Asian units were marginally stronger compared to the dollar.

Shares fell 0.3 per cent in early trade on Tuesday, led by losses in Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank, tracking weak Asian markets and as worries in euro zone weighed on investor sentiment.

The euro inched up against the dollar on Tuesday but remained within sight of an 8-month low hit last week, held back by persistent worries about the fiscal health of some euro zone countries.

India Tuesday 9 February 2010 - The rupee ended near its lowest in seven-weeks on Monday, unable to sustain a boost from the sharemarket turning around early losses and as the dollar lost ground against major currencies.

The rupee declined 0.1% to 46.81 per dollar. It touched 46.90 earlier, the weakest level since December 28. The currency slid 1.2% last week.

The partially convertible rupee closed at 46.83/84 per dollar from 46.73/74 on Friday. It fell as low as 46.8650, its lowest since December 23, with traders saying a figure of 46.90 reported in afternoon trade was a mis-hit.

“The market was very volatile today. The rupee’s weakness was initially held by custodial flows, but with the stock market tanking it followed the weakness, recovering mid-afternoon when globally risk got pushed up,” said Nitesh Kumar, an inter-bank dealer with Development Credit Bank.

“But that was short-lived as the dollar came off its lows globally and European shares also turned negative after a firm start, pushing the rupee down again,” he added.

The euro edged up against the dollar on Monday, recovering after recent losses but still close to multi-month lows on concerns about the fiscal health of some euro zone countries.

The index of the dollar against six major currencies was trading down 0.2%. The index had earlier dropped as much as 0.4% in Asian trade. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were trading at 46.91/47.01, weaker than the onshore spot rate, suggesting a bearish near-term outlook.

India Tuesday 9 February 2010 : Following are the indicative currency notes and travellers cheques buying and selling rates per unit as given by Thomas Cook India.

(Figures in Rupees) ——————— Currencies Buy Sell US Dollar 44.05 49.25 Sterling Pound 68.95 76.50 Euro 60.05 67.00 Australian Dollar 38.55 42.50 Bahrain Dinar 115.85 132.00 Canadian Dollar 40.45 45.55 Danish Kroner 07.85 09.15 Egyptian Pound 06.15 08.85 Hong Kong Dollar 05.50 06.50 Japanese Yen/100 48.85 54.40 Jordan Dinar 58.60 67.90 Kuwait Dinar 137.05 163.30 Malaysian Ringgit 12.20 14.80 New Zealand Dollar 29.50 34.05 Norwegian Kroner 07.20 08.35 Omani Rial 113.40 129.05 Qatar Rial 11.95 13.75 Saudi Rial 11.60 13.40 Singapore Dollar 30.10 35.25 South African Rand 05.30 06.40 Swedish Kroner 05.75 06.65 Swiss Francs 40.85 46.95 Syrian Pound 00.35 01.05 Thai Baht/100 129.55 152.65 UAE Dirham 11.90 13.45 Chinese Yuan 05.00 07.75.

India Tuesday 9 February 2010 - India’s economy is likely to grow 7.2% in the 2009-10 fiscal year, advance estimates of the Central Statistical Organization showed on Monday. The economy had expanded 6.7% in 2008-09.

For the fiscal year ending on March 31, the financing, insurance, real estate & business services sector is forecast to show the biggest growth of 9.9%, slightly less than the 10.1% logged in the previous year. Manufacturing, one of the key sectors driving GDP growth, is expected to grow a robust 8.9%, much greater than the 3.2% recorded for the previous fiscal.

Mining and quarrying, utilities as well as trade, hotels, transport and communication are expected to show more than 8% growth each in 2009-10. However, construction sector is forecast to show only 6.5% expansion compared to 5.9% in the previous year. Further, farm output is expected to shrink 0.2% in 2009-10 after growing 1.6% in the previous year.

India Monday 8 February 2010: The rupee held steady on Monday in the absence of clear direction from regional markets and as weak shares subdued sentiment on concerns that foreign investors would repatriate their funds.

At 9:45 a.m. (0415 GMT), the partially convertible rupee was at 46.72/73 per dollar, after dropping to 46.76 early. It closed at 46.73/74 on Friday after hitting 46.7650, its lowest since Dec. 30.

“The rupee is likely to be choppy today awaiting fresh cues. It is currently tracking the dollar index and weak equity market,” said Ashtosh Raina, head of foreign exchange trading, at HDFC Bank in Mumbai.

The euro and growth-linked currencies were on slippery ground on Monday as mounting fiscal worries in the euro zone and lingering concerns about a global tax on banks kept risk appetite modest.

Asian currencies were mixed against the dollar.

Indian shares fell 0.5 percent early on Monday, led by losses in Infosys Technologies and Reliance Industries, with sentiment also affected by worries in the euro zone.

Foreign buying of local shares is a key factor determining the rupee’s direction.

Foreigners have sold a net $1.8 billion worth of shares in the last 17 trading sessions. However, the rupee has been supported by $2 billion of net inflows into debt so far this year.

One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were trading at 46.76/86, marginally below the onshore spot rate.

In the currency futures market , the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both quoting at 46.7525, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $330 million.

India Monday 8 February 2010 : The rupee today opened firm by three paise to Rupees 46.72 against the US Dollar, as against its previous close of Rupees 46.75, on foreign fund outflows from the weak equity markets amid strengthening of the US currency against other units, traders at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (FOREX) said here.

It had slid by 50 paise on Friday.

Later, it was trading in a narrow range between 46.69 and 46.76 in intra day.

Dealers said with Asian currencies getting weaker against the greenback and subdued trend on the stock markets put pressure on the domestic currency.

India Monday 8 February 2010 : Following are the indicative currency notes and travellers cheques buying and selling rates per unit as given by Thomas Cook India.

(Figures in Rupees) ——————— Currencies Buy Sell US Dollar 44.00 49.20 Sterling Pound 68.95 76.50 Euro 59.90 66.80 Australian Dollar 38.55 42.45 Bahrain Dinar 115.75 131.90 Canadian Dollar 40.50 45.60 Danish Kroner 07.80 09.10 Egyptian Pound 06.20 08.90 Hong Kong Dollar 05.50 06.50 Japanese Yen/100 48.90 54.45 Jordan Dinar 58.55 67.85 Kuwait Dinar 137.50 163.85 Malaysian Ringgit 12.20 14.80 New Zealand Dollar 29.60 34.20 Norwegian Kroner 07.15 08.30 Omani Rial 113.30 128.95 Qatar Rial 11.95 13.70 Saudi Rial 11.60 13.40 Singapore Dollar 30.10 35.25 South African Rand 05.30 06.40 Swedish Kroner 05.70 06.65 Swiss Francs 40.70 46.80 Syrian Pound 00.35 01.05 Thai Baht/100 129.45 152.60 UAE Dirham 11.90 13.50 Chinese Yuan 04.95 07.75.

India Saturday 6 February 2010 - The rupee fell, completing its biggest weekly loss since July, as worsening public finances in Greece, Portugal and Spain prompted investors to seek safety in the dollar.

The rupee fell for the fourth week, the longest losing streak in five months, as stocks and commodities slid worldwide and investors pulled money out of riskier assets in emerging markets.

The rupee also dropped after a report showed US jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week, spurring concern that the recovery in the world’s largest economy is faltering.

The currency weakened 1.05 per cent to 46.7425 per dollar at close. It fell 1.22 per cent this week. Offshore contracts indicate bets the rupee will trade at 46.81 to the dollar in a month, against expectations of 46.25 on Thursday.

India Saturday 6 February 2010 - The International Monetary Fund or IMF has projected India’s economic growth for the fiscal 2010-11 at 8%, and 6.7% for current fiscal. It attributed India’s prompt fiscal and monetary easing along to fiscal stimulus of the government to the speedy recovery from global meltdown.

Although the agricultural output for the current fiscal is estimated to be less by 1% due to drought, the non-agricultural GDP growth is likely to increase. It foresees more jobs increasing private consumption.

Investments are likely to improve with boosting corporate profits, rising business confidence and favorable financing conditions. The acceleration pace of reforms and capital inflows also could raise investment.

The IMF said that with India’s long-term prospects remaining strong and the private sector balance-sheets sound, it expected growth to be back at potential 8% in 2010/11, even if advanced economies grew below trend. It added that medium-term growth prospects remained bright.

It cautioned the main risks that India was facing were the rising inflation and the financing constraints arising out of ballooning fiscal deficit. It also included risks like asset price bubbles and a sudden halt in capital inflows caused by turmoil in global financial markets.

India Saturday 6 February 2010 - India`s forex reserves decreased further by USD 1,983 million to stand at USD 280,955 million as on Jan. 29, 2009, mainly on account of heavy fall foreign currency assets.

As per the weekly statistical supplement of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released on Feb. 05, 2009, foreign currency assets decreased by USD 1,718 million to stand at USD 256,362 million.

During the same period, the reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decreased marginally USD 6 million to stand at USD 1,413 million.

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) decreased by USD 23 million to stand at USD 5,124 million. Gold reserves declined by USD 236 million to stand at USD 18,056 million.

Foreign currency assets expressed in USD include the effect of appreciation or depreciation on non-US currencies (such as Euro, Sterling and Yen) held in reserves.