Indian Rupee Ends Weak

The Indian rupee closed weaker on Monday, July 22, 2013 on account of choppy local shares and a strong demand for the greenback from domestic importers. The domestic currency commenced at Rs 59.30, higher by around 5 paise and dropped lower though the day. It is about a percent above its record low of 61.21 hit on July 8. In the spot currency market, the Indian unit was last seen trading at 59.73, lower by around 38 paise or 0.64% as compared to previous close at 59.35. The rupee gained on Friday after the central bank was rumoured to be intervening late in the session to support the currency that has floundered and been on the verge of wiping out all gains since policymakers' measures to drain liquidity.
Concerns have risen about the success of the steps after the government cancelled a treasury bill sale and the central bank had to reject most bids at a special bond sale as investors demanded higher yields. At least the rupee drew some solace from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's comments that the RBI can withdraw measures once short term pressures ease.
Domestic benchmark indices provisionally closed near the flat line after witnessing intraday volatility. Asian markets edged higher on Monday, 22 July 2013, after China removed a floor on banks' lending rates and after Japan's ruling government regained control of the parliament's upper house, raising hopes for further reforms in both economies. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 252.26 crore on Friday, 19 July 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. At the provisional closing, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 8.59 points or 0.04% to 20,158.44. The CNX Nifty was up 1.45 points or 0.02% to 6,030.65, as per provisional figure.
EUR/USD trades in the mid-1.31 range in Monday's European session. The market reaction to US Fed chair Bernard Bernanke's testimony last week in Washington was quite restrained, and had little impact on EUR/USD.
Source by Commodity Insights