Mumbai: The rupee reacted marginally downwards by five paise to end the shortened week at 62.36 against the Greenback on fresh dollar demand from importers amid weakness in local equities. Fresh capital outflows also weighed negatively on the market, a forex dealer said.
The Forex market was closed on April 14, 2015, for observing "Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti". The rupee opened slightly lower at 62.33 per dollar as against the last weekend's level of 62.31 and fell further to 62.5650 on renewed dollar demand from importers. However, it trimmed its losses and recovered to 62.28 on mid-week selling of dollars due to weakness in USD overseas before ending the week at 62.36, still showing a loss of five paise or 0.08 per cent.
The domestic currency had gained by 18 paise or 0.29 per cent in the last week. The Indian benchmark S&P BSE Sensex plunged by 437.28 points or 1.51 per cent during the week, snapping two weeks of winning string while FPIs bought shares worth USD 21.88 million in the first three trading days of the week, as per SEBI data.
Meanwhile, the retail inflation measures by the consumer price index (CPI) was down to three-month low of 5.17 per cent in March, 2015 as against 5.37 pct in February 2015 and the wholesale price index (WPI) inflation fell to a record low of (-) 2.33 pct in March, 2015 from (-) 2.06 per cent in February, 2015. Oil prices fell in Asia as investors locked in profits following a six-day rally, with a rise in OPEC's output in March also adding to downward pressure, analysts said.
