After showing its muscle versus the world leading currencies, the euro breached the barrier of Rs 75 for the second week in a row in the local markets, money viewers said.
The interesting thing to note was the stability in rupee-dollar parity rates in the interbank mark, which did not move to any side despite the unprecedented demand for the greenback.
Demand for dollars was high for clearance of import bills in the middle of the final quarter of the current fiscal year. The other thing was the euro's climb versus rupee as it crossed Rs 76 due to dollar's fall in the international markets.
The rupee maintained a firm trend versus dollar in the interbank market for buying and selling at 60.06 and 60.07, respectively.
In the open market, the rupee ended the week on a firm note, after showing modest fluctuations versus dollar amid modest trading. The rupee, however, continued its slide versus euro, losing nearly a rupee for buying and selling at Rs 76.13 and Rs 76.23, respectively.
INTER-BANK MARKET RATES: On Tuesday, the rupee commenced the week on a firm note, showing no major change versus dollar for buying and selling at 60.06 and 60.07, respectively.
On the remaining days of the week, the rupee stood firm, and held prevailing levels versus the greenback.
INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO: the dollar depicted weakness most of the time versus leading currencies. On Monday, the euro was slightly firmer at 1.2631 dollar, having climbed as far as 1.2667 dollar in New York, and remained close to Monday's one-year peak at 1.2690 dollars. On Tuesday, the dollar made slight recovery in relation to the other major currencies after a report that the Federal Reserve chief said that the markets had misread his congressional testimony the preceding week.
The dollar got a boost late on Monday after CNBC television reported Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told one of its reporters over the weekend that the bank was still aggressive on inflation and was concerned markets would see it as dovish.
In the middle of the week, the euro failed to maintain its upward trend but held firm against other currencies before a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting.
According to the market sources, the ECB is expected to keep rates on hold at 2.5 percent, but the bank's president Jean-Claude Trichet is seen painting an upbeat picture of the euro zone's economy and signalling that further interest rates rises are likely.
"What Trichet is likely to say is well priced in. The overwhelming view is that Trichet is pretty determined to move in June. There's not much room for positive surprises for the euro," said David Simmonds, head of FX strategy at Royal Bank of Scotland.
OPEN MARKET RATES: On May 2, the rupee failed to maintain its firmness versus dollar in the open market, shedding 4 paisa for buying and selling at 60.17 and 60.22, respectively.
The rupee managed to recover 20 paisa versus euro for buying and selling at Rs 75.15 and Rs 75.20, respectively, as the single European currency slid in terms of dollar in the world markets.
On May 3, the rupee shed 3 paisa in relation to dollar for buying and selling at 60.20 and 60.25, respectively.
The rupee followed suit in terms of euro losing 55 paisa for buying and selling at Rs 75.65 and Rs 75.75, respectively, as the dollar slipped against world currencies.
On May 4, the rupee managed to gain 2 paisa against dollar for buying at 60.18 while it did not show any change for selling at 60.25. The rupee recovered 30 paisa versus euro for buying and selling at Rs 75.35 and Rs 75.45, respectively.
On May 5, the rupee gained one paisa for buying at 60.17 and three paisa for selling at 60.22.
The rupee lost 15 paisa versus euro for buying and selling at Rs 75.80 and Rs 75.90, respectively.
On May 6, the rupee shed one paisa versus dollar for buying and selling at 60.18 and 60.23 , respectively.
The single European currency gained 33 paisa for buying and selling at Rs 76.13 and Rs 76.23, respectively.
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