LAST week in the local currency market, the rupee/dollar parity continued to show a stable trend amid slight variations.

In the interbank market on Monday, the rupee lost three paisa on the buying counter and five paisa on the selling counter owing to a rise in dollar demand ahead of the Independence Day holiday. The dollar thus closed the session at Rs123.93 and Rs123.97 against the last closing at Rs123.90 and Rs123.92.

When the market resumed trading on Wednesday, the rupee gained 23 paisa on the buying counter and 24 paisa on the selling counter.

The dollar slipped to Rs123.70 and Rs123.73. The rupee continued to trade stronger on Thursday. It gained 20 paisa on the buying counter and 18 paisa on the selling counter.

In the open market, the dollar remained dull, owing to lowering demand from the corporate and private sector

The dollar further descended to Rs123.50 and Rs123.55. The week, however, ended on a negative note as the rupee shed 50 paisa on Friday. The dollar surged to Rs124.00 and Rs124.05 at the close of the week. During the week, the dollar on the interbank market appreciated by just 0.11 per cent on a weekly basis.

In the open market, the dollar remained dull in value against the rupee, owing to lowering demand from the corporate and private sector. The rupee did not show any change on Monday. The parity continued to trade flat at Rs121.50 and Rs122.50.

When the market resumed trading after a day break on Wednesday, the rupee on the buying counter posted a 20 paisa gain, but showed no change on the selling counter. The dollar was at Rs121.30 and Rs122.50.

The rupee gained 30 paisa on the buying counter and 20 paisa on the selling counter, pushing the dollar to Rs121.00 and Rs122.30 on Thursday.

On Friday, the rupee lost 50 paisa on the buying counter and 20 paisa on the selling counter. The dollar was a little volatile closing the week slightly higher against the rupee at Rs121.50 and Rs122.50.

When trading resumed on August 15, the euro lost 100 paisa each on the two counters and closed Wednesday lower at Rs134.50 and Rs140.00.

On Thursday, the euro further shed 100 paisa on the buying counter and 20 paisa on the selling counter before closing the session at Rs133.50 and Rs139.80.

The euro managed to stage a slight recovery on Thursday after the rupee gave up its week-long firmness and closed the week at Rs135.00 and Rs140.00, posting 150 paisa loss on the buying counter and 20 paisa loss on the selling counter. On a week-on-week basis, the rupee managed to gain 100 paisa against the euro.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, August 20th, 2018