LM:Rupee weakens to 61.62 per dollar on demand from importers
Mumbai: The local currency depreciated slightly in intra-day trading on Friday on dollar demand from importers to meet their month-end dues.
At 2.20pm local time, the domestic currency was trading at 61.62 per dollar, down from its previous close of 61.47.
The rupee opened at 61.4950 a dollar and traded in the range of 61.4350 and 61.7850.
Since January this year, the rupee has weakened 10.76% and has lost the second most after the Indonesian rupiah in Asia.
According to a currency exchange dealer with a foreign bank, trading was thin because banks were not taking positions ahead of the second quarter monetary policy announcement by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 29 October. The dealer didn’t want to be named.
RBI is also largely absent from the market, said dealers.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major global currencies, was trading at 79.059, down 0.16% from the previous close of 79.185.
India’s benchmark equity index, Sensex, was at 20,745.53, down 20 points from its previous close.
The yields on the 10-year bond stood at 8.588%, flat from the previous close. The inter-bank call money rate was at 9%.
