Modest recovery

The rupee depicted modest recovery against the dollar on the money market during the week, ended on Dec 14, 2019.

OPEN MARKET RATES: The rupee gained 20 paisas versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.40 and Rs 154.70. The rupee, however, dropped in terms of the euro for buying and selling at Rs 170.50 and Rs 172.50.

INTER-BANK MARKET RATES: The rupee showed slight changes in relation to the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.95 and Rs 154.97.

Commenting on the rupee's performance against the dollar, marketmen said that the local currency traded cautiously versus the dollar due to an easy availability of dollars.

Comfortable supply of dollars helped the rupee to sustain it's value and it appeared that the local currency likely to move cautiously in days to come, they added.

INTER-BANK MARKET RATES: On Monday, the rupee managed to hold last week firmness in relation to the dollar, picking up about 10 paisas for buying and selling at Rs 154.96 and Rs 154.98, they said.

On Tuesday, the rupee inched down by one paisa in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.97 and Rs 154.99, they said.

On Wednesday, the rupee did not move any side in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.97 and Rs 154.99, they said. On Thursday, the rupee inched up by one paisa in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.96 and Rs 154.98. On Friday, the rupee moved up slightly in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.95 and Rs 154.97.

OPEN MARKET RATES: On Dec 9, the rupee followed the same pattern versus the dollar, gaining 10 paisas for buying and selling at Rs 154.60 Rs 154.90. The rupee did not move any side for against the euro for buying at 170.00 while it picked up 20 paisas for selling Rs 171.50.

On Dec 10, the rupee managed to gain 10 paisas versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.50 and Rs 154.80. The rupee, however, fell against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 170.50 and Rs 172.00.

On Dec 11, the rupee maintained an upward trend versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.40 and Rs 154.70. The rupee picked up 30 paisas against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 170.20 and Rs 171.70.

On Dec 12, the rupee maintained last levels versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.40 and Rs 154.70. While, the rupee fell modestly against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 171.00 and Rs 172.80.

On Dec 13, the rupee did not move any side versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.40 and Rs 154.70, while it fell against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 171.50 and Rs 173.50.

On Dec 14, the rupee sustained overnight levels versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 154.40 and Rs 154.70. While, the rupee recovered sharply against the euro for buying and selling at Rs 170.50 and Rs 172.50.

OVERSEAS OUTLOOK FOR DOLLAR: In the first Asian trade, the dollar held firm on Monday after data showed surprise strength in the US jobs market, but the currency was restrained from moving higher by worries about an escalation in the US-China trade war.

The dollar index stood almost flat at 97.706 in mid-Asian trade, after rising 0.3% on Friday. The euro traded at $1.10575, after hitting a one-week low of $1.10395 on Friday.

The dollar changed hands at 108.58 yen. It had lifted to 108.92 yen on the US jobs data before losing momentum.

US non-farm payrolls increased by 266,000 jobs last month, the biggest gain in 10 months, while the unemployment rate ticked back down to 3.5%, its lowest level in nearly half a century.

The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 71.118, the greenback was at 4.159 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was available at 7.036 in relation to the Chinese yuan.

In the second Asian trade, the dollar and yen mostly held the safe-haven high ground on Tuesday, with investors wary of a looming deadline for US tariffs on China, the British election and upcoming Federal Reserve and European Central Bank meetings.

Front of mind is whether Washington will go ahead with a fresh round of tariffs on Sunday, or whether a deal with China can be reached before then.

The dollar was available versus the Indian rupee at Rs 70.925, the greenback was at 4.159 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was trading against the Chinese yuan at 7.038.

In the third Asian trade, the British pound slipped on Wednesday after a poll showed a narrowing lead for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party in an election scheduled for later in the week, while US dollar movement looked to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 70.800, the US currency was at 4.160 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the greenback was available at 7.038 versus the Chinese yuan.

In the fourth Asian trade, the dollar nursed its steepest losses in weeks on Thursday, as the Federal Reserve's forecast that it would hold rates through 2020 sparked an unwinding of long positions in the greenback.

Investors were also on edge ahead of Sunday's deadline for a new round of US tariffs on China, and a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting and the UK election later on Thursday.

The dollar hit its lowest in more than a month against the euro at $1.1143 and stayed there, while sterling drifted higher ahead of the election.

The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 70.695, the greenback was at 4.152 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the US currency was at 7.032 versus the Chinese yuan.

In the final US trade, the dollar slipped against a basket of currencies on Friday as the announcement of an initial China-US trade deal and an election victory for Britain's Brexit-backing Conservative Party appeared to clear the fog on the global investment horizon, sapping safe-haven demand for the greenback.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese officials said on Friday that they have agreed to a "phase one" trade deal that included cutting American tariffs on Chinese goods.

The two countries have reached an agreement where Washington would suspend tariffs on Chinese imports scheduled for Sunday, while Beijing would step up purchases of US agricultural products.

But they offered no specific details on the amount of US agricultural goods Beijing had agreed to buy, a key sticking point of the lengthy deal negotiations.