THE dollar gained further strength against the rupee in the local currency market last week. Higher demand for the forex currency by banks and importers, as well as the greenback’s overall rising trend against major currencies, is said to be behind the rupee’s recent fall.

On the interbank market, the rupee started the week by falling five paisas for buying and two paisas for selling, sending the dollar up at Rs101.50 and Rs101.52 against the prior week’s close of Rs101.45 and Rs101.50.

The rupee shed another seven paisas in the second trading session, as the dollar ended the day at Rs101.57 and Rs101.59. The rupee-dollar parity remained unchanged at this level in the third trading session.

The rupee resumed its downfall in the fourth trading session, as the greenback gained 10 paisas to close the day at Rs101.67 and Rs101.69.

The local currency lost a further eight paisas for buying and 11 paisas for selling in the last trading session, allowing the dollar to close the week up at Rs101.75 and Rs101.80. During the week, the dollar appreciated by 30 paisas against the rupee in the interbank market.

In the open market, some stability was witnessed in the rupee’s value. The dollar retained the prior week’s closing level of Rs101.40 and Rs101.60 in the first two trading sessions.

The dollar appreciated by 30 paisas against the rupee in both interbank and open markets last week

However, in the third trading session, the rupee suffered a loss of 10 paisas which sent the greenback up at Rs101.50 and Rs101.70. The dollar gained another 10 paisas in the fourth trading session to end the day at Rs101.60 and Rs101.80.

The reserve currency gained a further 10 paisas in the last trading session to close the week at Rs101.70 and Rs101.90. As a result, the dollar appreciated by 30 paisas against the rupee in the open market last week.

Meanwhile, the local currency broke away from its recent downturn against the euro, displaying a stable performance on a weekly basis. It commenced the week by losing 10 paisas, sending the single currency up at Rs115.10 and Rs115.35 in the first trading session, against the prior week’s close of Rs115.00 and Rs115.25.

The rupee shed a further 65 paisas in the second trading session, allowing the euro to reach up at Rs115.75 and Rs116.00 for the day. However, the euro gave up its firmness and receded to Rs115.00 and Rs115.25 in the third trading session after the rupee rebounded by 75 paisas.

But the local currency slipped by 50 paisas in the fourth trading session, as the euro rose to Rs115.50 and Rs115.75. However, the single currency lost 50 paisas in the last trading session to close the week at Rs115.00 and Rs115.25.

As a result, the rupee-euro parity remained unchanged on a net basis last week. So far this month, the euro hit its highest at Rs116.00 and Rs116.25 and the lowest at Rs114.00 and Rs114.25.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, February 23rd , 2015

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