MUMBAI: The rupee was mostly steady in afternoon trade on Monday as a surprise rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India supported sentiment, though losses in domestic shares and a strong dollar overseas weighed.
At 2:48, the partially convertible rupee was at 45.51/52, little changed from its Friday's close of 45.50/51. It has traded in a 45.4775-45.5600 band so far in the day.
The RBI raised rates late on Friday in its first increase since it began cutting in 2008 and cited intensifying inflationary pressures and a steady economic recovery for the move.
Shares were trading down 0.8 per cent with financials leading the decline after the rate hikes. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was up 0.2 per cent.
The euro slumped to a three-week low against the dollar on Monday, pressured by uncertainty about whether Greece would be able to secure aid this week to help service its ballooning debts.
One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were at 45.60, weaker than the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both at 45.54, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $4 billion.
