THE rupee remained within a tight range against the dollar in the local currency market last week, amid a slowdown in trading activity due to Ramazan.

On the interbank market, the rupee commenced the week with a loss of five paisas for buying and of 12 paisas for selling, as the dollar ended the first trading session at Rs98.80 and Rs98.90, against the prior week’s close of Rs98.75 and Rs98.78.

The rupee dipped by another three paisas against the greenback in the second trading session, as the dollar slipped to Rs98.83 and Rs98.93. However, the local currency picked up 13 paisas in the next trading session, sending the dollar lower to Rs98.70 and Rs98.80.

The rupee gained another eight paisas against the dollar for selling in the fourth trading session, as the reserve currency dipped to Rs98.70 and Rs98.72.

The rupee gained about two paisas against the dollar in interbank dealings and remained unchanged in the open market last week

But the rupee shed four paisas in the last trading session, as the dollar closed the week at Rs98.74 and Rs98.76. During the week, the dollar dropped marginally by one-paisa for buying and by two paisas for selling in the interbank market.

In the first two weeks of July, the dollar has traded between a high of Rs98.83/98.93 (July 8) and a low of Rs98.58/98.68 (July 3) against the rupee.

In the open market, the rupee started the week on a stable note and the rupee-dollar parity remained unchanged at the prior week’s close of Rs98.90 and Rs99.10 in the first trading session.

The local currency then picked up 10 paisas in the second trading session, as the dollar dropped to Rs98.80 and Rs99.00. However, it shed 10 paisas in the third trading session, as the dollar rose to the week’s starting level of Rs98.90 and Rs99.10. The rupee-dollar parity remained unchanged at this level in the next two trading sessions, and the dollar ended the week on the open market at Rs98.90 and Rs99.10.

During July, the dollar has so far traded between Rs99.25/45 and Rs98.80/Rs99.00 against the rupee.

Against euro, the rupee started the week unchanged at the prior week’s close of Rs134.00 and Rs134.25 in the first trading session. However, the local currency shed 25 paisas in the second trading session as the single currency rose to Rs134.25 and Rs134.50 for the day. The rupee lost another 15 paisas in the third trading session, as the euro rose to Rs134.40 and Rs134.65.

The local currency slipped by a further 10 paisas in the fourth trading session, as the European currency rose to Rs134.50 and Rs134.75. However, it managed to gain 25 paisas in the last trading session, as the euro closed the week at Rs134.25 and Rs134.50. The single currency rose by 25 paisas against the rupee last week.

In the first two weeks of this month, the euro has traded between a high of Rs135.25 and Rs135.50 (July 1) and a low of Rs134.00 and Rs134.25 (July 5) against the rupee.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, July 14th, 2014