Rupee firms, but Greek vote, oil payments eyed

The rupee strengthened on Wednesday in step with a rally in domestic equities, a strong euro and firmer Asian peers, but volume was light on caution before the outcome of Greece austerity vote.

At 10:45 am (0515 GMT), the partially convertible rupee was at 449575/9600 per dollar, stronger from Tuesday's close of 45.03/04.

Traders forecast a range of 44.90-45.10 for the day, with payments for oil imports and defence purchases expected to weigh.

"It is a fairly quiet market as traders are most likely to be on the sidelines before the result of Greece vote is seen," said a senior foreign exchange dealer at a private-sector bank.

"Equities and the euro are rising in anticipation of a positive outcome in Athens, but then how long does it take for the markets to crash if the outcome is unexpected?"

The Greek parliament will debate on the austerity package from 0700 GMT and conclude sometime later in the day with a vote. On Thursday, it will vote on a separate implementation law spelling out the fiscal measures in more detail.

The euro was at USD 1.4368 versus USD 1.4242 at the end of domestic currency trade on Tuesday, and the index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.06% at 75.021 points.

The benchmark Indian share index was up nearly 0.8% tracking firm Asian equities, extending a more than 5% rally over the past sessions days.

The one-month onshore forward premium was at 23.75 points versus 20 on Tuesday. The three-month was at 73 points from 70 and the one-year was at 249 points from 243.

One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 45.15, weaker than the onshore spot rate.

In the currency futures market , the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange, the United Stock Exchange and on the MCX-SX were all at 45.1450. The total volume was at USD 1.71 billion.