Forex: The rupee appreciated for the second week in a row and closed up by 39 paise to end at two-week high of 60.76 against the US dollar during the shortened week under review following sustained dollar selling by exporters and some banks amid bullish local equities.
The forex market was closed on Friday, August 15, on account of 'Independence Day'. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit commenced the week better at 61.09 a dollar from last weekend's close of 61.15 and dropped to a low of 61.30 on Wednesday on fresh dollar demand from importers, amid uptick in retail inflation and slowing industrial production growth. Later, it bounced back to settle the week at its highest level of 60.76, showing a rise of 39 paise, or 0.64 per cent. On Thursday, it gained 45 paise -- its best single day gain in three months -- amid fall in wholesale inflation to five-month low in July. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex snapped its two-week losses and closed the week sharply higher by 774.09 points, or 3.06 per cent, while FIIs bought shares worth Rs 1,595.72 crore during last week, including provisional data of August 13 and 14.
Meanwhile, the country's industrial production (IIP) slowed to 3.4 per cent in June as against 5 per cent in May, while retail inflation, as measured by consumer price index (CPI) rose to 7.96 per cent in July from 7.46 per cent in June, as per government data announced on Tuesday.
