Rupee loses 30 paise

 An acute dollar shortage in the cash market and near-term (forward) covering by importers pulled the rupee down from 45.41to a dollar at close on Monday to 45.71/72 today.

 The discount on the forward dollar deepened across all maturities as exporters continued to dump dollars in the forward market.

 In a day marked by extreme volatility, the rupee opened at 45.40/42 but came under heavy dollar demand from corporates and importers. Supplies were also limited on account of the Columbus Day holiday in the US yesterday.

 Market players say the cash dollar crunch in the local market is the outcome of the Reserve Bank of India buying $2.8 billion in the forward market between end-September and early October to help the State Bank of India redeem the Resurgent India Bonds (RIBs) worth around $5.2 billion.

 The rupee has lost 0.94 per cent in just three sessions after hitting a three-year closing high of 45.26/27 on Thursday. The rupee is still up 5.02 per cent against the dollar since January 2003.