Rupee may open at 59.30/$; good time to sell US dollar

The rupee on Wednesday appreciated and closed at 59 against the US dollar, despite the stock market tanking. CNBC-TV18’s Latha Venkatesh expects the Indian currency to start on a back foot today because the dollar is performing well globally. The rupee may open around 59.15-59.30/USD today.

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The greenback is stronger versus the euro as also against the Korean Won and the Brazilian Real. So, the dollar is likely to start from front foot today. There are somewhat weak cues even for Asian equities at this point in time. However, she doesn't think that the dollar will go very far in India. Clearly, the second round of steps taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had its impact on Indian exporters. The appreciation seen on Wednesday in the rupee was on dollar selling, not by the central bank, but by exporters. The impression appears to have been created by the central bank that they are not going to stop at anything to ensure that the dollar doesn’t get expensive. So, if one has forward dollars, it would be good to sell it now, she added. That psyche was getting reflected in the way exporters behaved and sold dollars yesterday. There will be some weakness in the rupee, but exporters or banks may not  want to take on the central bank in this current mood.