Rupee ends firm

The rupee ended firmer against the dollar for the second straight session in the interbank market on Thursday, dealers said. It closed unchanged at 155.88/dollar.

“The local unit was steady in a dull trade due to the lack of corporate and import payments,” a foreign exchange dealer

said. “There were not much of trades happening.”

“There was no pressure on the currency because of slowdown in the demand for the greenback,” he added.

The local currency; however, lost value in the open market, amid an uptick in the demand for the foreign exchange.

The rupee closed at 156.10/dollar, compared with the Wednesday’s closing of 155.95.

Analysts expect the rupee to appreciate in the days ahead due to slowdown in the current account deficit and improvement in the foreign exchange reserves.

“The real effective exchange rate is 92.7, remains below the 100-mark. This strengthens the chances of currency gains in the coming days,” an analyst said.

The current account deficit dropped to $1.548 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year from $4.287 billion a year ago. The rupee has fallen by 12.2 percent so far this calendar year.