Date:15/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/15/stories/2008111556451600.htm

Business

Rupee recovers

MUMBAI: The rupee recovered from two-week low against the dollar on Friday, as exporters cashed in on the currency’s recent weakness and sold dollars while lower crude prices bolstered sentiment, dealers said.

The partially rupee closed at 49.01/02 a dollar, after touching an intraday low of 49.49.

The rupee ended at 49.30/32 on Wednesday, when it fell 2.4 percent, its biggest single-day drop since February 1996. The market was closed on Thursday for a public holiday.

“Exporters see little downside for the rupee past the 49 level,” a state-run bank trader said. Traders said lower global oil prices calmed worries about a widening trade deficit.

The rupee hit a record low of 50.29 per dollar in late October.

After gaining more than 12 per cent against the dollar in 2007, it has fallen about 20 per cent this year.