Forex update: Rupee logs biggest weekly fall against US dollar in four months on weak equities

The rupee marked its biggest weekly fall against in the Greenback in over four months on Friday, tracking a steep declines in domestic equities and broad dollar strength as the slump in crude oil prices raised concerns about the global economy.

The partially convertible rupee closed higher at 62.29/30 per dollar, after falling to as low as 62.5050, a level last seen on February 6. The domestic unit had closed at 62.33/34 on Thursday.

The rupee fell 0.82 per cent over the week to mark its worst weekly fall since August 1.

The falls in the rupee likely prompted intervention from the central bank, traders said.

"Rupee's bias would remain towards slow depreciation. Weak equities due to slumping crude opens the possibility of 63 plus on the unit in the near term," said Anindya Banerjee, currency research analyst at Kotak Securities.

The US dollar stayed firm against most of its major peers on Friday, thanks in part to upbeat US retail sales data.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index Sensex fell for a fifth session in six on Friday to post its worst weekly fall in three years as foreign investors sold shares worth US $141.5 million in the last three sessions, regulatory data showed.

Caution also prevailed ahead of consumer inflation data later in the day. Analysts expect retail prices to have risen 4.5 per cent, the lowest advance since the data was released in 2012, which would reinforce expectations of early rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India in 2015.

In the global commodity market, Brent crude prices slipped on Friday to below US $63 a barrel, its lowest since July 2009, on persistent concerns over a global supply glut and a sluggish oil demand outlook.

In the offshore non-deliverable forwards, the one-month contract was at 62.58, while the three-month was at 63.11.

(Reuters)