Forex: The Indian rupee snapped its two-week gaining

Forex: The Indian rupee snapped its two-week gaining streak and slipped by 21 paise to close at 59.93 against the greenback following steep fall in local equities amid fresh dollar demand from importers.

Domestic shares crashed like nine pins after the declaration of Railway and Union Budget during this week as according to market participants both the budget was in line with market expectations and were already factored in. The benchmark BSE Sensex plunged by 937.71 points, or 3.61 pct this week, showing a steep weekly fall in absolute term in last five years. The dollar demand was so strong that better USD overseas and sustained capital inflows could not able to stem the rupee fall, a forex dealer said. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit commenced lower at 59.80 a dollar from last weekend's close of 59.72 and moved in a wide range of 59.57 and 60.31 before settling the week at 59.93, revealing a fall of 21 paise or 0.35 pct.

In last two-week it had risen by 46 paise or 0.76 pct. "After appreciating for last two weeks, Rupee depreciated during the week. This week was eventful for the Indian markets as most eagerly awaited Rail budget and Finance budget were announced. Rail budget declared was more futuristic and overlooked the current scenario which disappointed the market and it reacted instantly to the unsatisfactory budget. Indices slipped down which further dented the Rupee movement. The trading range for the Spot USD/INR pair is expected to be within 59.50 to 60.50.