Mumbai: The Indian rupee was trading weaker than its Thursday’s close on thin volume as currency dealers are not taking positions ahead of the Diwali festival. At 2.10 pm, the domestic currency was trading at 61.8750 a dollar, down 0.61% from its previous close of 61.4950. However, the current rate is stronger than its Friday opening of 61.9550 a dollar. “We suspect Reserve Bank of India (RBI) came once in the market to prevent the rupee to hit 62. It looks like the RBI is comfortable in letting rupee play within a band and not cross important levels like 62 because after 62.50, technical charts indicate pressure on the currency,� said a foreign exchange dealer with a foreign bank who did not want to be named. Since January, the rupee has weakened 11.11% and is the third major loser in Asia after the Indonesian rupiah and the Japanese yen. The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major global currencies, was trading at 80.489, down 0.37% from its previous close of 80.195. India’s benchmark equity index Sensex was trading at 21,197.26 points, down 0.14% or 29.69 points from its previous close. Yields on the 10-year bond stood at 8.654%, up from the previous close of 8.628%. Interbank call money rate was at 8.68%.

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