Finance: naresh kumar pg 1st rupees

Sunday, December 1, 2013

naresh kumar pg 1st rupees

Rupee closes marginally down against dollar

The rupee had on Friday opened higher against the US dollar, tracking gains in Asian currencies. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint

Mumbai: The Indian rupee ended marginally down on Friday, paring some of its early gains, which dealers attributed to dollar demand towards noon. But the currency has traded largely in a range this week, appreciating 0.7%.

The partially convertible Indian rupee closed at 62.4487, down 0.06% from the previous close of 62.41.

Since January, the rupee has weakened 11.94% and is the third biggest loser in Asia after the Indonesian rupiah and the Japanese yen.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 80.55, down 0.04% from the previous close of 80.582

On Friday, BSE’s 30-share bellwether index Sensex gained 1.25%, or 257.02 points, to 20,791.93, while the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) broader 50-share index Nifty gained 1.38%, or 84.25 points, to close at 6,076.10 points. The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond dropped to 8.742 from the previous close of 8.726%.

Data released by the government showed that the gross domestic product (GDP) for the quarter ended 30 September grew 4.8%, compared with 4.4% in the June quarter.

A Reuters poll of 40 economists had predicted a GDP growth of 4.6%.