THE RUPEE: steady trend

The rupee appreciated against the dollar during the week, ended on January 13, 2018. The rupee gained 50 paisas in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 111.80 and Rs 112.20, they said. While, the rupee lost over Rs 3.00 for buying and selling at Rs 135.50 and Rs 137.50, they added
OPEN MARKET RATES: THE INTER-BANK MARKET: The rupee held the present levels in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.54 and Rs 110.55. Some experts said that in the beginning sessions of the week, following the speculative buying of dollars, the rupee breached the barrier at Rs 113.00 in the open market, whereas, the national currency almost sustained it's week-end levels in the inter-bank market.
For the last several years, the rupee traded within a narrow band versus the dollar in both the inter-bank and open market, the rupee almost traded at Rs 105.00 and Rs 106, they added. In middle of last July, after the interventions, the rupee stabilised, but with the beginning of 2018, the rupee started showing vulnerability against the dollar, today the national hit new at Rs 113.50 during the day, but later the domestic currency shed sharp losses, they said. In the meantime, some analysts were of the view, that recovery may prove short-live and market may observe further volatility. At the same time, the some other experts said that the rupee may not lose sharply in the near future.
OPEN MARKET RATES: On Monday, the rupee lost 30 paisas in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 112.30 and Rs 112.50, they said.
The rupee, however, gained 20 paisas against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 132.80 and Rs 134.80, they added. On Tuesday, the rupee managed to gain 30 paisas in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 112.00 and Rs 112.40. The rupee also rose by 30 paisas against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 132.50 and Rs 134.50, they added.
On Wednesday, the rupee gained 30 paisas versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 111.70 and Rs 112.10. The rupee was trading against the euro at Rs 133.00 and Rs 135.00. On Thursday, the rupee did not any side in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 111.70 and Rs 112.10, they said. Similarly, the rupee also held the overnight levels against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 133.00 and Rs 135.00, they added.
On Friday, the rupee shed 10 paisas in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 111.80 and Rs 112.20. The rupee fell sharply against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 135.00 and Rs 137.00. On Saturday, the rupee stayed put in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 111.80 and Rs 112.20, they said. While, the rupee continued decline versus the euro, losing 50 paisas more for buying and selling at Rs 135.50 and Rs 137.50, they added.
INTER-BANK MARKET RATES: On January 8, the rupee depicted no major fluctuations in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.54 and Rs 110.56, they said. On January 9, the rupee also picked up two paisas in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.52 and Rs 110.55. On January 10, the rupee also was unmoved in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.53 and Rs 110.55. On January 11, the rupee also was unmoved in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.53 and Rs 110.55, they said. On January 12, the rupee almost stayed firm in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.54 and Rs 110.55.
OVERSEAS OUTLOOK FOR DOLLAR: In the first Asian trade, the dollar inched higher against a basket of major peers on Monday as data showing slower US jobs growth did little to dent expectations for further Federal Reserve interest rate increases this year.
The dollar's index against a basket of six major currencies rose 0.1 percent to 92.051, up from its January 2 low of 91.751, which was its weakest level since September 20. US non-farm payrolls increased by 148,000 jobs last month, after a surge of 252,000 in November, according to data on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a December rise of 190,000.
Initially, the dollar slipped after the payrolls figures, but later regained some composure. The US currency had begun 2018 on the defensive, after the dollar index fell about 9.9 percent in 2017, its weakest performance since 2003. The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 63.325, the greenback was at 3.985 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was available at 6.489 versus the Chinese yuan. Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Monday. 82.75-82.75 (Previous 82.75-82.75).
In the second Asian trade, the yen jumped on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan trimmed its buying of long-dated Japanese government bonds in market operations, helping to stoke speculation about a future exit from its massive stimulus policy. The yen rose about 0.4 percent to 112.62 yen to the dollar, bouncing back further from its two-week low of 113.40 per dollar touched on Monday.
"The BOJ's operation was a trigger for the yen's gains, although I suspect there were a lot of New Year flows given today was the first business day for quite a lot of people," said Shusuke Yamada, chief Japan FX/equity strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 63.463, the greenback was available in relation to the Malaysian ringgit at 3.998 and the US currency was at 6.502 versus the Chinese yuan.
Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Tuesday. 82.80-82.80 (Previous 82.75-82.75). In the fourth Asian trade, the dollar edged higher against the yen on Thursday after comments by China's foreign exchange regulator eased concerns that China may reduce its buying of US government bonds. The dollar rose 0.2 percent to 111.70 yen, pulling away from a six-week low of 111.27 yen on Wednesday. China's foreign exchange regulator said a recent report that China was considering slowing down or halting its purchases of US Treasury bonds could be based on erroneous information.
Bloomberg News had reported on Wednesday that Chinese officials reviewing the country's foreign exchange holdings had recommended slowing or halting purchases of US Treasury bonds. US 10-year Treasury yields rose to 10-month highs and the dollar fell after the report was published. After the regulator's comments on Thursday though, the dollar and US Treasuries gained some buying support.
Against a basket of six major currencies, the dollar inched up 0.1 percent to 92.396, having fallen as low as 91.922 on Wednesday. The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 63.743, the greenback was at 3.987 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was available at 6.516 in relation to the Chinese yuan.
Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Thursday. 82.80-82.80 (Previous 82.80-82.80). In the final Asian trade, the dollar slumped against rivals on Friday on the back of weak factory inflation data, while the euro enjoyed solid support after the European Central Bank hinted that it could be gearing up to trim its massive monetary stimulus.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rival currencies, edged down slightly to 91.814. A move below the January 2 low of 91.751 would put it at its weakest since September 20. The index was on track to shed 0.2 percent for the week, pressured by data on Thursday that showed US producer prices fell for the first time in nearly 1-1/2 years in December, which could temper expectations that inflation will accelerate in 2018.
The dollar was available against the Indian rupee at Rs 63.530, the greenback was at 3.970 versus the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was at 6.478 in term of the Chinese yuan. In the final NY trading, the dollar slumped to a more than three-year low against the euro, as the common currency extended its gains on hopes that European Central Bank policymakers are preparing to reduce their vast monetary stimulus programme.
The euro was up 0.9 percent to $1.2139, on pace for its biggest single-day percentage gain against the greenback in about two months. On Thursday, the euro rose 0.72 percent against the dollar after ECB policymakers said in minutes of the bank's December meeting that they could revisit their communication stance in early 2018.
The euro found further support after Chancellor Angela Merkel struck a deal with Social Democrat (SPD) rivals on Friday to open government coalition talks, easing months of uncertainty that has undermined Germany's global role and raised questions about her political future.