Rupee just whisker away from 80 per dollar

Chennai, July 18

The week opened for Indian rupee on a weak note against the US dollar with the latter hardening against it.

The rupee hit Rs 79.99 during the intra-day trade and closed at Rs 79.97 against the dollar.

"USD-INR spot closed 9 paise higher 79.97, a whisker away from all time high near 79.99. Today rupee brushed aside all positive cues by way of strong equities and weaker dollar index. Strong demand for oil marketing companies kept the pressure on. Over the near term, bias continues to be upward. We expect the pair to trade within a range of 79.60 and 80.30 on spot," Anindya Banerjee, Vice President, Currency Derivatives & Interest Rate Derivatives at Kotak Securities Ltd, said.