Rupee closes at one-week high
The rupee closed at 67.09, a level last seen on 10 June, up 0.28% from its previous close of 67.28
Mumbai: The rupee on Friday closed at a one-week high against the US dollar after the current account deficit (CAD) narrowed sharply due to lower trade deficit.
The currency closed at 67.09—a level last seen on 10 June, up 0.28% from its previous close of 67.28. The local currency opened at 67.22 and touched a high of 67.04 a dollar—a level last seen on 13 June.
India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 100.45 points, or 0.38%, to close at 26,625.91. So far this year, Sensex is up 2%.
Meanwhile, India’s 10-year bond yield closed at 7.502%, compared with Thursday’s close of 7.507%.
India’s current account came closer to recording a surplus, with March-quarter CAD narrowing sharply to 0.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) on account of lower trade deficit. Contracting imports also helped bring down CAD for 2015-16 to 1.1% of GDP from 1.8% in the previous fiscal.
So far this year, the rupee has weakened 1.36%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $2.84 billion from the local equity market and sold $1.16 billion in debt markets.
Asian currencies closed mixed. The South Korean won was down 0.14%, Singapore dollar 0.1%, Philippines peso 0.1%, China Offshore 0.09%. However, the Indonesian rupiah was up 0.27%, Thai baht 0.13%, Japanese yen 0.05%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.382, down 0.2% from its previous close of 94.569.
UK opposition Labour Party lawmaker and anti-Brexit campaigner Jo Cox was murdered on Thursday as she met constituents, shocking Britain and silencing the increasingly bitter debate about membership of the European Union. It was the first killing of a British MP in more than two decades. All campaigning for the referendum, just a week away, has been suspended. It is unclear when it will resume, Bloomberg reported.
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