The rupee continued to slide against the dollar and the euro last week, despite the combined efforts of the central bank and the finance ministry to stem the local currency’s decline. It is nearing its record lows against both currencies.

Meanwhile, the gap between the interbank and open market rates for the dollar has again started widening. The spread has recently reached around 62-paisa. And despite sufficient dollar inflows, speculative dollar buying in the open market boosted demand for the greenback, and exerted downward pressure on the rupee.

The rupee fell against the dollar in all five trading sessions in the interbank market last week. It started the week with a loss of 28-paisa on the buying counter and 25paisa on the selling counter to end the first trading session at Rs103.18 and Rs103.20, from the prior week’s close of Rs102.90 and Rs102.95.

The rupee shed another 18-paisa against the dollar on the buying counter and 23-paisa on the selling counter to close the second trading session at Rs103.40 and Rs103.43. It posted a fresh 19-paisa loss on the buying counter and 18-paisa loss on the selling counter in the third trading session, pushing the dollar to Rs103.59 and Rs103.61.

In the fourth trading session, the rupee shed five-paisa against the dollar, which was trading at Rs103.64 and Rs103.66. In the last trading session, the rupee inched down by one-paisa on the buying counter and two-paisa on the selling counter as the dollar closed the week at Rs103.65 and Rs103.68.

The rupee cumulatively lost up to 75-paisa against the dollar in the interbank market last week. In the past 12 months, the dollar has jumped 9.5 per cent against the rupee in the interbank market.

In the open market, the dollar managed to again go past the Rs104-mark against the rupee in the later half of last week.

The rupee appeared stable in the first trading session last week, as the rupee/dollar parity remained unchanged at the prior week’s closing level of Rs103.30 and Rs103.50. However, the rupee’s respite was short-lived, as it shed 20-paisa against the greenback, pushing it up to Rs103.50 and Rs103.70 in the second trading session.

The dollar continued to strengthen against the rupee, which lost 15 paisa to push the greenback up at Rs103.65 and Rs103.85 in the third trading session. In the fourth trading session, the rupee hit another low of Rs103.90 and Rs104.10 after shedding 25-paisa against the dollar.

The rupee slipped by another 20-paisa against the dollar in the last trading session, pushing it up to Rs104.10 and Rs104.30 at the close of the week.

The rupee depreciated by around 0.8 per cent or 80-paisa against the dollar since last week, and it has lost 6.2 per cent value against the greenback since this January.

Meanwhile, the euro continued to rise towards the historic Rs140-mark last week, as the rupee plunged by a huge 1.6 per cent against the common currency over the earlier week.

The rupee started the week with a 50-paisa loss against the euro, which rose to Rs136.50 and Rs136.75 in the first trading session, from the previous week’s close of Rs136.00 and Rs136.25.

The euro then rose by 100-paisa against the rupee in the second trading session, to close the day at Rs137.50 and Rs137.75. The rupee continued to slide against the euro in the third trading session, as it shed 50-paisa against the common currency, which rose to Rs138.00 and Rs138.25.

However, the rupee managed to recover 25-paisa in the fourth trading session, pushing the euro slightly lower at Rs137.75 and Rs138.00. However, the rupee suffered a 45-paisa loss against the common currency in the last trading session, as the euro closed the week at Rs138.20 and Rs138.45, down Rs2.20 on the week.

Meanwhile, on the international front, the euro edged higher against the dollar in New York’s first trading session at $1.3374. Later, the euro rose 0.1 per cent to $1.3338, its highest since June 19. The euro’s gains, however, were limited by the rise in US 10-year Treasury yields, which advanced to 2.90 per cent, their highest in two years.

Against the yen, the dollar was slightly higher at 97.59 yen. In London, sterling was up 0.1 per cent against the dollar at $1.5650, not far from its June 19 high of $1.5678.

On August 20, the dollar fell to a six-month low against the euro and a one-week low against the yen. In thin trade, the euro hit $1.3453 after having reached a session peak of $1.3452, its highest since February 14. The dollar fell 0.3 per cent to 97.21 yen. It had earlier fallen to 96.88 yen, a one-week low.

Sterling traded near a two-month high against a weaker dollar, up 0.2 per cent at $1.5682, after touching an intra-day peak of $1.5696, its highest since June 18.

On August 21, the euro hit a session low against the dollar at $1.3334 and was last quoted at $1.3347, down 0.5 per cent. In London, sterling hit a two-month high against the dollar, rising 0.2 per cent to $1.5695, after having hit a two-month high of $1.5702. Traders cited resistance at its 200-week moving average of $1.5754.

On August 22, the dollar rose for a second straight session, hitting a more than two-week high against the yen at 98.80 yen and breaking past the August 15 peak of 98.66 yen. It was last at 98.67 yen, up one per cent.

However, the euro had pared losses against the dollar and was flat at $1.3351 in late New York trading. Sterling slipped from a two-month high against the dollar. In London, it was last down 0.4 per cent at $1.5595, off a two-month high of $1.5718 it had struck the previous day.

At the close of the week on August 23, the euro last traded 0.3 per cent higher against the dollar at $1.3393. On the week, it was up 0.5per cent. The euro had set a six-month high of $1.3453 against the dollar earlier in the week.

Against the yen, the dollar edged lower to 98.59 yen, after hitting a three-week high of 99.15 yen on the Reuters trading platform. In London, sterling was flat at $1.5583, after hitting a one-week low of $1.5538 earlier in the day.