December 11, 2001	Tuesday	Ramazan 25, 1422

MUMBAI, Dec 10: The rupee ended barely changed on Monday as heavy weekend dollar supplies and remittances were absorbed by large state-run banks.

Dealers said besides routine bunched flows from the weekend, there was a dollar remittance for a south-based software firm, which hit the market in early deals.

Yet the rupee stuck to a narrow 47.8025-47.8275 range and ended at 47.8250/8300 per dollar, almost unchanged from Friday’s close.

The rupee has been firming steadily for almost two weeks and at current levels is at a 12-week high.

Dollar forwards were mixed, as conflicting signals from the United States and strained domestic liquidity gave rise to some paying (sell-buy swaps).

Dealers said the fixing of Monday’s LIBOR at some 10 basis points lower than last week’s levels of around 2.60 per cent and uncertainty over how far the United States will cut rates when the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting committee meets on Tuesday kept the market jittery.

The one-month forward ended down six basis points at 6.30 per cent but the one-year forward ended up five basis points at 6.01 per cent.—Reuters