THE RUPEE: steady trend

The rupee maintained a firm posture against the dollar on the money market during the shortened week owing to Eid-ul-Fitr holidays. The rupee was available versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 148.50 and Rs 148.70.
INTER-BANK MARKET RATES OPEN MARKET RATES: The rupee stood at Rs 147.80 and Rs 148.80 in terms of the dollar for buying and selling, they said. The rupee was available against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 164.00 and Rs 167.50.
Marketmen said that currency market saw shortened week due to long holiday. Commenting on rupee's performance, they said that rupee may not react sharply versus the dollar before announcement of federal budget 2019-20. They were hoping for business-friendly budget, especially for textile and export sector.
INTER-BANK MARKET RATES: The rupee shed five paisas versus the dollar for buying at Rs 148.50 and it lost 15 paisas for selling at Rs 148.70, they said.
OPEN MARKET RATES: The rupee picked up 20 paisas in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 147.80 and Rs 148.80, they said. The rupee fell against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 164.00 and Rs 167.50, they said.
In the first Asian trade, the yen brushed a more than four-month high against the dollar on Monday and the Swiss franc rose as US President Donald Trump's hard stance on trade broadened to countries beyond China, stoking investor demand for safe-haven assets. The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 69.445, the greenback was at 4.179 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was available at Rs 6.903 in relation to the Chinese yuan.
In the second Asian trade, the dollar was on the defensive on Tuesday after taking a beating against peers such as the euro and yen, hurt by a sharp slide in US Treasury yields as traders raised their bets for a near-term rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
In the third Asian trade, the dollar struggled to bounce off seven-week lows on Wednesday after US central bank officials hinted at the possibility of an interest rate cut in the face of rising risks to trade and global growth. The dollar index against a basket of six peers barely budged, moving up 0.03% at 97.105, within reach of a recent low of 96.995 brushed overnight - its lowest since April 18.
In the fourth Asian trade, the yen edged up versus the dollar on Thursday as sentiment soured over US-Mexico talks on tariffs and immigration, fuelling broader concerns about global trade hostilities and raising appetite for safe-haven currencies.
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies stooped to a two-month low of 96.749 midweek as benchmark US yields declined sharply this week to 21-month lows on investor risk aversion and heightened prospects of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 69.370, the greenback was at 4.173 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was at 6.912 versus the Chinese yuan.
In the final Asian trade, the dollar was under pressure on Friday and was poised for its worst weekly performance for the year, as investors waited on a key US jobs report that is expected to back expectations for a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut to support a slowing economy.
Against a basket of six peers, the dollar was a shade lower at 97.029, trading about 0.3% above an eight-week low of 96.749 brushed on Wednesday. The index was on course for a 0.75% loss this week, its worst weekly performance since early December last year.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 69.280 and the greenback was at 4.155 versus the Malaysian ringgit. In the final US trade, the US dollar index fell on Friday to its lowest since March 26 after the US Department of Labor's employment report showed that job growth slowed sharply in May and wages rose less than expected.
The weak data suggest that the loss of momentum in economic activity has spread to the labor market, which will further support forecasts that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year. Rising expectations of a cut have pulled the dollar 1.2% lower this week.