THE rupee largely stabilised against the dollar in the interbank market last week, as key market players were said to have remained on the sidelines. However, it weakened in the open market on Friday.

On the interbank market, the rupee commenced the week by losing one-paisa, sending the dollar marginally up at Rs105.50 and Rs105.51 in the first trading session against the prior week’s close of Rs105.49 and Rs105.50.

The rupee then stayed unchanged for buying but shed one-paisa for selling in the second trading session, as the dollar edged up to Rs105.50 and Rs105.52 for the day.

But the local currency managed to recover one-paisa in the third trading session, as the greenback slipped to Rs105.49 and Rs105.50. With the dollar rising against a basket of currencies in overseas trade, the rupee dipped by one-paisa in the fourth trading session, sending the dollar back at Rs105.50 and Rs105.51.

The rupee-dollar parity then remained unchanged at this level in the week’s last trading session. During the week, the dollar appreciated by a marginal one-paisa against the rupee in the interbank market.

In the open market, the rupee displayed a largely stable trend, with the local currency coming under pressure only on Friday. Trading volumes were said to have remained thin owing to a lack of interest by leading currency dealers.

The rupee depreciated by one-paisa against the dollar in interbank dealings and by 40 paisas in the open market last week

In the week’s first four trading sessions, the rupee-dollar parity remained unchanged at its previous week’s closing level of Rs106.00 and Rs106.30. But the dollar rebounded in the overseas market later on in the week.

According to independent reports, this led the rupee to post a big loss of 40 paisas for buying and 30 paisas for selling in the last trading session. As a result, the greenback closed the week up at Rs106.40 and Rs106.60.

The rupee has depreciated by 5.5pc against the dollar in the past 11 months and by 0.85pc so far this month, according to independent reports.

However, the rupee displayed a strong performance against the euro last week. It started the week by picking up 10 paisas and sent the single currency down to Rs113.10 and Rs114.10 against the prior week’s close of Rs113.20 and Rs114.20.

However, the euro rebounded in the second trading session and recovered 20 paisas to end the day at Rs113.30 and Rs114.30. But the rupee managed to gain 40 paisas in the third trading session and sent the euro down to Rs112.90 and Rs113.90.

In the fourth trading session, the rupee picked up another 10 paisas and pushed the euro to Rs112.80 and Rs113.80 for the day. The rupee-euro parity then remained unchanged at this level in the final trading session. The euro depreciated by a net 60 paisas against the rupee last week.

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, November 30th, 2015