MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Indian central bank was likely selling dollars to limit the rupee’s losses after it hit a record low on Tuesday on higher U.S. bond yields and dollar demand from local oil companies.
The rupee was quoted at 85.16 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:20 a.m. IST after dipping to a low of 85.1625 in early trade.
State-run banks were spotted offering dollars, mostly likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), traders said.
Dollar offers from state-run banks were present near 85.16-85.17 levels but they are “not very heavy,” a trader at a private bank said.
The rupee could drift lower towards 85.20 during the day with RBI “likely keeping a check on any sharp declines,” the trader said.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
