June 24, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 23,1424

MUMBAI, June 23: The Indian rupee surrendered all of the past week’s gains to end weaker on Monday as the government bought dollars to make interest payments on overseas loans and companies bought the greenback to make month-end payments, traders said.

The rupee closed at 46.68/70 per dollar, its weakest finish since June 13, when it ended at 46.73/75 and down from Friday’s 27-month closing peak of 46.5375/5475. Volumes were fairly good. The dollar’s rise prompted some covering, said a trader at a state-run bank.

Many were sitting short at the weekend and had to cover positions.—Reuters