The Indian rupee slipped towards the bottom of the week's trading range on Friday, as state-run banks kept it under pressure, and it ended the week close to a recent four-month low.
Traders said state-run banks, likely to be operating on behalf of the central bank, bought dollars and sold rupees at about 45.10 per dollar to push the currency to a weaker close of 45.1450/1500. It ended Thursday at 45.1050/1150.
The dollar's overnight gains against the euro and concern about rising oil prices undermined the rupee early. Record oil prices are putting upward pressure on India's import bill and widening its trade deficit.
Dealers said there had been good two-way business with some foreign inflows that looked to be corporate rather than investor inflows, which gave it a boost before state-run banks stepped in to cap its gains.
The rupee hit its lowest in nearly four months last week at 45.40 but according to a J.P. Morgan trade-weighted index it remains about 6 percent overvalued.
The central bank has been intervening to absorb foreign fund flows into India's booming stock market and keep rupee gains in check. Foreign reserves data released on Friday showed reserves rose to a new record of $155.2 billion on April 14.
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