Rupee falls 17 paise to 95.59 as RBI tightens swap facility

The rupee fell 17 paise to 95.59 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, as sentiment turned cautious after the Reserve Bank of India advanced the cut-off date for its concessional swap facility for FCNR (B) deposits to August 31 from September 30. The RBI said the facility has attracted USD 56.84 billion so far. The Hindu and Deccan Herald both reported the decline, citing forex traders and CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari, who said the overall risk-reward tilts towards weakness and that the USD/INR could move towards 96.20, 96.50 in coming days.

The sharp moves also hit Indian government bonds, with the yield on the benchmark 6.94 per cent 2036 bond rising 3.5 basis points to 6.7909 per cent, BusinessLine reported, as traders noted selling pressure on bonds linked to early closure of the swap window. Separately, BusinessLine reported that the RBI has been intervening heavily in forex markets, with state-run banks selling dollars consistently to anchor the rupee, reviving memories of the tightly managed currency regime under former governor Shaktikanta Das. The rupee traded in a narrow 10-paisa range on Monday, with RBI intervention every session since the previous Monday.

A stronger dollar index and Brent crude near USD 89 per barrel added pressure. India's forex reserves rose USD 14.136 billion to USD 707.002 billion for the week ended August 7. Traders now await the minutes of the RBI's August monetary policy decision due on Wednesday.