Rupee slightly gains at 42.92/93 in the week

Mumbai, Jun 22: Rupee slightly appreciated at 42.92/93 against US Dollar due to sustained intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the week ended June 20.The partially convertible Indian currency was under strong pressure throughout the week on varried market sentiments and soaring global oil prices. However, its sharp fall beyond 43.00 level was capped reportedly by the Central Bank, dealers said.

Indian bourses plunged heavily on Friday, June 20.

Rupee traded in a wide range band of 42.82 and 42.99 during the week and posed a strong tendency to past over 43.00 level on Friday as Indian bourses plunged heavily by 517 points after the reports of record high inflation, which hit 13-year high at 11.05 per cent in the week ended June 7, shot up sharply from 8.75 per cent in the previous week, dealers asserted.

A double digit inflation rate was expected due to hike in petroleum product prices early this month and further it is being expected to remain at the higher levels as the global oil prices are still on peak, which would reflect into market ahead, a senior dealer with a leading private bank said.

''The local unit would be under extreme pressure in the future sessions as the high inflation has heightened the fear of the strong outflows from the market,'' he said adding that the only hope for the traders is RBI's vigilant intervention to prevent sharp fall of Indian unit against greenback.

UNI