The dollar index a measure of the US currency against a basket of six trade-weighted major rivals retreated to end at 93.10 against 93.37 last week after briefly touching a fresh one-week low of 92.99. The local currency dropped further sharply against the Japanese Yen to end at 58.78 per 100 yens from 57.79. In the forward market, premium for dollar fell sharply due to consistent receivings from exporters. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable for January dropped to 129-131 paise from 138-140 paise and the far-forward contract maturing in July 2018 also declined to 263.50-265.50 paise from 272-274 paise. In global commodity trade, crude prices edged higher on Friday, though it posted another weekly decline after the International Energy Agency said market rebalancing was taking time due to weak OPEC compliance with output cuts.

Source: dna August 12, 2017 11:02 UTC