Rupee resists pressure (Dawn EBR)

 Rupee resists pressure

THE rupee came under slight pressure against the dollar and euro in the local currency market this week, as the foreign currencies managed to bounce back from their recent lows.

However, the rupee resisted any sharp declines, and the spread between the buying and selling rates of the dollar was restricted to three paisa in interbank dealings and 20 paisa in the open market.

The difference in the dollar rates in the two markets, however, increased from 67 paisa to 78 paisa on the buying counter, and from 90 paisa to 95 paisa on the selling counter. The spread between the buying and selling rates, which had narrowed down to 10 paisa last weekend, hit the maximum limit of 25 paisa allowed by the central bank in the open market in the first session of the week.

On the interbank market, the rupee mostly traded flat against the dollar, with its lowest level for the week at Rs98.39/Rs98.41 and the highest at Rs98.33/Rs98.35.

After closing last week at Rs98.26 and Rs98.28, the rupee drifted lower against the dollar in first three successive sessions of the week. It lost seven paisa to close at Rs98.33 and Rs98.35 on April 15 in the first session of the week. It shed another five paisa in the second trading session to close at Rs98.38 and Rs98.40 on April 16, before declining by one paisa to close the third trading session at Rs98.39 and Rs98.41.

After a 13 paisa cumulative decline against the dollar in the first three sessions, the rupee gained a paltry two paisa on the buying counter and one paisa on the selling counter in the fourth trading session, to close the day at Rs98.37 and Rs98.40.

In the last session of the week on April 19, the rupee traded unchanged on the buying counter, and inched up by one paisa on the selling counter, to close the week at Rs98.37 and Rs98.39. On a week-over-week basis, the dollar appreciated by 11 paisa against the rupee in interbank dealings.

In the open market, the dollar extended its weekend firmness against the rupee in the first trading session of the week. The rupee lost 10 paisa on the buying counter and 25 paisa on the selling counter on the day to last trade at Rs99.00 and Rs99.25, against the previous weekend`s level of Rs98.90 and Rs99.00.

The rupee continued its downslide against the dollar into the second trading ses-sion, as it lost 20 paisa on the buying counter and 15 paisa on the selling counter. The dollar gained to Rs99.20 and Rs99.40 for the day. The consecutive two-day losses amounted to 40 paisa.

However, the rupee rebounded against the dollar in the third trading session, and gained five paisa to trade at Rs99.15 and Rs99.35. The dollar, however, traded unchanged at Rs99.15 and Rs99.35 in the next two trading sessions, and the parity stayed at that level at the close of the week. On a week-overweek basis, the dollar appreciated by 35 paisa against the rupee in the open market.

Meanwhile, the rupee continued its downward slide against the euro this week. It touched its highest level at Rs128.75 and Rs129.00 on April 17, and the lowest of Rs129.50 and Rs129.75 on April 18.

The rupee suffered a 20 paisa loss in the first trading session of the week, pushing the euro up to Rs129.20 and Rs129.45 against the previous week`s close of Rs129.00 and Rs129.25. The rupee lost another five paisa against the common currency in the second trading session to trade at Rs129.25 and Rs129.50.

The euro hit its highest level against the rupee in the third trading session of the week, after it gained 25 paisa to trade at Rs129.50 and Rs129.75. The rupee had suffered a cumulative loss of 50 paisa in the week in the first three sessions.

The rupee, however, managed to bounce back against the common currency in the fourth session, and pulled back by 75 paisa to trade up at Rs128.75 and Rs129.00.

However, it ended the week with a 50 paisa loss to trade at Rs129.25 and Rs129.50. On a week-over-week basis, the rupee shed 25 paisa against the euro.

On the international front, the yen rose from recent multi-year lows against the dollar in the first trading session, as it gained 1.86 per cent to trade at 96.55 yen against the dollar.

The euro was down 0.63 per cent to $1.3028 against the dollar, off of its one-month high of $1.3138 it had hit last week. In London, sterling also fell against the dollar, down 0.2 per cent at $1.5306, pulling away from last week`s peak of $1.5412, which was its highest since February 20.

On April 16, the yen tumbled against the dollar, which rose to a session peak of 98.15 yen before pulling back slightly to close the day up 1.5 per cent at 98.13 yen. The euro rose 0.7 per cent against the dollar to close at $1.3122. In London, sterling was up 0.1per cent at $1.5302, as it edged away from a low of $1.5269, and remained well below last week`s peak of $1.5412.

On April 17, the euro suffered its biggest daily decline against the dollar since last June, as it fell 1.1 per cent to $1.3026, after having hit a seven-week high overnight. The dollar rose 0.5 per cent to trade at 98.04 yen, but remained well below its fouryear high of 99.94 yen it had reached last week. In London, sterling fell 0.9 per cent against the dollar to $1.5219.

On April 18, the euro edged higher against the dollar, bouncing up from its biggest daily drop in 10 months in the previous session, rising 0.15 per cent to $1.3048. It hit a session peak of $1.3096.

Meanwhile the dollar rose 0.13 per cent to 98.22 yen. In London, sterling fell to a day low of $1.5218, before rising 0.3 per cent to close the day at $1.5281. It has steadily retreated from a two-month high of $1.5412 hit last week.

At the close of the week on April 19, the euro rose 0.5 per cent against the dollar to $1.3111. However, on a weekover-week basis, it slipped 0.3 per cent against the greenback, its first weekly loss in three weeks. The dollar rose 1.2 per cent to 99.27 yen, after having hit a session peak of 99.35 yen. Offers were reported around 99.50 yen, which may stem its rise in the very short term. On the week, the dollar fell 0.3 per cent against the yen, also its first weekly loss in three weeks. Sterling in London edged up 0.1 per cent against the dollar to $1.5289, paring gains after earlier climbing to as high as $1.5368.