THE RUPEE: modest gains

The rupee managed to gain modestly against the dollar on the money market during the week, ended on February 17, 2018. In the open market, the rupee picked up 20 paisas in relation to the dollar for buying and selling Rs 111.30 and Rs 111.60. The rupee, however, fell sharply against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 137.30 and Rs 138.80.
In the inter-bank market, the rupee moved slightly in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.55 and Rs 110.56. Slight improvement was witnessed in the supply of dollars, helped the rupee to recover modestly, currency experts said.
They also said that the people who were expecting about the dollars' rise but now on the sidelines with a surprise. The rupee has lost around six percent against the dollar just before some months, so we should not expect for further sharp fall in the value of the dollar in near future, they added. Besides, an encouraging report emerged on the economic front that during the half fiscal year, country's remittances climbed to 11.4 billion dollars, they observed.
OPEN MARKET RATES: On Monday, the rupee lost 30 paisas against the dollar for buying and selling Rs 111.50 and Rs 111.80, they said. The rupee followed same pattern in terms of the euro, shedding Re one for buying at Rs 136.00, while it showed no change for selling at Rs 137.00. On, Tuesday, the rupee shed 10 paisas versus the dollar for buying and selling Rs 111.60 and Rs 111.90, they said.
The rupee also dropped it's value sharply in terms of the euro, losing Re one for buying at Rs 137.00, while it dipped by Rs 2 for selling at Rs 139.00, they added. On Wednesday, the rupee picked up 20 paisas versus the dollar for buying and selling Rs 111.40 and Rs 111.70, they said. The rupee was unchanged in terms of the euro for buying at Rs 137.00, while it gained 50 paisas for selling at Rs 138.50, they added.
On Thursday, the rupee was unchanged in relation to the dollar for buying and selling Rs 111.20 and Rs 111.50. The rupee continued slide against the euro, losing more 25 paisas for buying and selling at Rs 138.00 and Rs 139.50.
On Friday, the rupee gained 20 paisas versus the dollar for buying and selling Rs 111.20 and Rs 111.50. The rupee, however, lost 75 paisas in terms of the euro for buying and selling at Rs 137.75 and Rs 139.25.
On Saturday, the rupee shed 10 in relation to the dollar for buying and selling Rs 111.30 and Rs 111.60, they said. The rupee, however, managed to pick up 70 paisas against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 137.30 and Rs 138.80, they added.
INTER-BANK MARKET RATES: On February 12, the rupee shed one paisa in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.55 and Rs 110.56, they said. On February 13, the rupee depicted no variation in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.55 and Rs 110.56. On February 14, the rupee inched up by one paisa in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.54 and Rs 110.55.
On February 15, the rupee held the overnight levels in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.54 and Rs 110.55. On February 16, the rupee moved slightly in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 110.55 and Rs 110.56.
OVERSEAS OUTLOOK FOR COTTON: In the first Asian trade, the yen edged higher versus the dollar on Monday, but traded below a five-month high as a bounce in US equities late last week dampened demand for traditional safe haven currencies.
The dollar eased 0.1 percent to 108.70 yen, but remained above Friday's trough of 108.05 yen, its lowest level since September 11. The dollar last week fell nearly 1.3 percent against the yen.
The US S&P 500 gained 1.5 percent on Friday, ending a wild week with a burst of buying, but still recorded the worst week in two years. Despite the bounce, investors were bracing for more volatile trading days ahead.
During Asian trading hours on Monday, S&P 500 e-mini futures edged higher and were up 0.5 percent as of 0406 GMT.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.1 percent.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 64.295, the US currency was available at 3.932 versus the Malaysian ringgit and the greenback was at 6.306 in terms of the Chinese yuan. Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Monday: 82.90-82.90 (Previous 82.90-82.90).
In the second Asian trade, the dollar slipped back on Tuesday as global equity markets showed some sign of stability after the recent rout, reviving risk appetite and putting the US currency on the defensive on worries about its receding yield advantage.
The dollar's index against a basket of six major currencies stood at 90.142, having fallen 0.26 percent on Monday and edging away from Thursday's half-month high of 90.569.
The euro traded at $1.2298, bouncing off last week's low of $1.2206, though it was still more than two cents below its 3-year high of $1.2538 hit on January 25.
Buying the euro was one of the popular trades earlier this year on the view that the European Central Bank will scale back its stimulus later this year on the back of a strong recovery in the euro zone economy.
The British pound edged up to $1.3846 from Friday's low of $1.3764. Despite uncertainties around Brexit, the pound has been propped up by rising expectations the Bank of England will raise interest rates to curb inflation.
The dollar was available at 3.931 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the greenback was at 6.325 in relation to the Chinese yuan.
Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Tuesday: 82.90-82.90 (Previous 82.90-82.90).
In the third Asian trade, the dollar slid to a 15-month low against the yen on Wednesday, as investors remained on edge ahead of key US inflation numbers later in the day, underscoring fragile risk sentiment following the recent shakeout in equity markets.
The US currency was 0.7 percent lower at 107.050 yen, its weakest since November 2016, with a drop in Japanese shares increasing demand for the yen which is often sought in times of market turmoil.
The dollar had enjoyed a brief respite against its Japanese peer overnight as US shares managed to gain for the third successive session on Tuesday following last week's sharp downturn. But it began to wobble again as Japan's Nikkei surrendered early gains and fell on Wednesday.
Near-term focus was on how far the dollar would slide against the yen after falling below 107.320, which was seen as a key technical level.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 64.128, the greenback was available at 3.923 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was at 6.332 in relation to the Chinese yuan.
Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Wednesday: 82.92-82.92 (Previous 82.90-82.90).
The dollar extended its losses against the yen and hit a new 15-month low on Thursday, with market participants bracing for further near-term weakness in the US currency. The dollar dropped below Wednesday's low of 106.725 yen and fell as far as 106.30 yen, its weakest level since November 2016. That marked a drop of 3.8 percent from its early February peak near 110.50 yen. The US currency later pared some of its losses and was last down 0.4 percent at 106.56 yen.
The dollar was available against the Indian rupee at Rs 63.918 and the greenback was at 3.892 versus the Malaysian ringgit.
Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Thursday: 82.94-82.94 (Previous 82.92-82.92).
In the Asian trade, the dollar slipped to a three-year low against a basket of currencies on Friday, headed for its biggest weekly loss in nine months, as bearish factors offset support the US currency could take from rising Treasury yields.
The euro was up 0.2 percent at $1.2531 after reaching a three-year top of $1.2545 and poised to gain 2.2 percent this week.
The dollar was little changed at 106.070 yen after slipping to 106.020, its lowest in 15 months. It was on track for a weekly loss of 2.5 percent.
In the final New York trade, the dollar limped back from a three-year low against a basket of currencies on Friday but still marked its fifth weekly loss out of seven weeks this year, driving the euro up to its highest level since December 2014.
The US currency has been weighed down by several factors this year, including the perceived erosion of its yield advantage as other countries start to scale back easy monetary policy.
Traders' confidence in the dollar has also been worn down by worries over the United States' current account and budget deficits, with the latter projected to balloon to near $1 trillion in 2019 amid a government spending splurge and hefty corporate tax cuts.