Rupee falls 10 paise to 79.23 against USD

New Delhi: At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 79.20 and finally ended at 79.23, down 10 paise over its previous close of 79.13.

"Gains for the currency were short-lived even after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced forex-related measures. Pound held on to its gains after Boris Johnson said he was quitting as prime minister following a rush of ministerial resignations and calls for him to go," said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Focus will be on the non-farm payrolls data and better-than-expected numbers could keep the dollar supported at lower levels, Somaiya said, adding, "We expect the USD-INR to trade sideways but with a positive bias and quote in the range of 79.05 and 79.80." The RBI on Wednesday raised overseas borrowing limits for companies and liberalised norms for foreign investments in government bonds as it announced a slew of measures to boost foreign exchange inflows in efforts to curb the fall of the rupee.

The central bank had also said it has been closely monitoring the liquidity conditions in the forex market and has stepped in as needed in all its segments to alleviate dollar tightness with the objective of ensuring orderly market functioning.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)