MUMBAI: The inclusion of government bonds in the JP Morgan global bond index from June 28 may not have had the desired impact on bond yields, but it did impact the forex kitty, which swelled by $5.16 billion during the week to July 5.
According to the latest weekly data, the forex reserves, a key defence for an economy against external winds, rose to a new high, touching $657.155 billion for the week to July 5. The reserves had fallen in the previous two consecutive weeks, dropping $1.713 billion to $651.997 billion for the week to June 28.
The previous high for the reserves was $655.817 billion for the week to June 7 this year.
Meanwhile, despite the positive dataprints from overseas, the rupee ended weaker, pressured by state-run banks’ dollar demand at Rs 83.56 to a dollar, down 4 paise from the previous session.
The rupee shuffled in a tight band in the first half of the session, with bids from state-run banks pushing it lower towards the latter half, according to traders.
Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year bond yields inched up marginally by 0.06 percent to close at 6.986 from the previous week. This is the first time in weeks that the yield has fallen below the 7 percent level.
