Indian central bank likely intervenes to defend rupee near record low, traders say

MUMBAI, Oct 10 (Reuters) – The Reserve Bank of India likely intervened in both the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) and local spot market to support the rupee on Friday as the South Asian currency was pinned near its all-time low. Two traders told Reuters that the central bank had likely stepped in the NDF market before the local spot market opened at 9 a.m. IST while three other flagged that state-run banks were offering dollars in the local spot market, most likely on behalf of the RBI. The rupee was last at 88.79, just shy of its all-time low of 88.80 hit last week. One trader said that it was unclear whether the central bank was active in the NDF market. Routine interventions near the 88.80 level have dented speculative interest in wagering against the currency. On the day, a broadly stronger dollar hurt the rupee with analysts citing the drag from worries over ongoing U.S. trade tensions and the adverse trade impact of rising gold prices on India. (Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra, Nimesh Vora; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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