Rupee unlikely to maintain rally, to be range-bound: Experts

Mumbai: Due to higher demand for dollars from  importers and rise in the greenback after strong non-farm   payrolls data in the US, Rupee is unlikely to maintain the momentum raise high in this week. Analysts said the rupee is likely to open on a weaker   note on Monday on concerns over early withdrawal of monthly   asset purchases by the US Federal Reserve.

"The rupee is at the 61 level, and at this level we  will see lot of buying coming in from importers," said KN   Reghunathan, treasurer at the state-run Union Bank of India. The current account deficit narrowed to USD 4.2 billion of GDP, in the December quarter on the back of   rise in exports and fall in gold imports, according to the   government data.  

The rupee ended at a three-month low of 61.07 against   the greenback on March 7. It also touched an intra-day low of 60.90. From the lifetime low of 68.85   recorded on August 28, the rupee has rallied 11.3 per   cent

The US economy added in 175,000 non-farm payrolls in   February as against an addition of 129,000 in January.   "A strong jobs data show that the US economy is   recovering and so tapering will be faster than expected. I see   the rupee to be under pressure and might open at 61.20 on   Monday," said a senior forex dealer with a state-owned bank.  

It is also expected that the Reserve Bank will buy dollars from   the market if the rupee rises above 60.50 level to replenish   the forex reserves.         .