Dollar demand could put pressure on rupee
The rupee is likely to stay in the 48.36-48.44 range against the dollar this week. Last Friday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened indirectly when the rupee was around the 48.4125 mark through state-owned banks, which kept selling dollars and did not allow the rupee to depreciate despite the demand for greenbacks.
Public sector steel and fertiliser firms and a big private sector company were continuously picking up dollars. Most of the demand, however, was on a cash basis. This trend is likely to spill over to this week too, according to dealers.
They believe the movement of the rupee on Monday will set the trend for the week. There could be some usual bunched-up dollars flowing in on Monday. But dealers said the supply side seems to have dried up a bit.
Even last week there weren
