Refile: India central bank takes steps to support rupee, opens dollar window for oil companies
REFILE-India central bank takes steps to support rupee, opens dollar window for oil companies Corrects spelling of 'permit' in bullet 4
MUMBAI, Oct 10 (Reuters) - India's central bank has announced more measures to support the rupee on Saturday after the currency fell to within striking distance of its record low.
The Reserve Bank of India will open a special window to meet the daily dollar requirements of three government oil-marketing companies to ease the pressure on the spot market
Under such an arrangement, used in times of strain on the currency, the RBI provides oil companies dollars directly from its foreign exchange reserves
Indian Oil IOC.NS, Hindustan Petroleum HPCL.NS and Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS will be allowed to access to access dollars under the facility from Monday, the RBI said
Forex dealers will not permit users to rebook any foreign exchange derivatives, the bank said
The RBI slashed the limit for positions in exchange-traded currency derivatives involving the rupee to $5 million from $100 million
The central bank asked forex dealers to maintain a "foreign exchange risk reserve" for all derivative contracts involving the rupee equal to 20% of the notional amount of each transaction
The RBI has raised dollars and hiked its policy rate, but pressure on the currency has persisted. On Friday, the rupee INR=IN closed at 96.73 per dollar, barely changed from its previous close, and near its all-time weakest level of 96.96, hit in May
(Reporting by Ira Dugal; Editing by William Mallard)
((Ira.Dugal@thomsonreuters.com; +91-9833024892;))
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