Currency markets News

The domestic unit opened lower at 64.15 from its previous close of 64.06 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and hovered in a range of 63.9925 and 64.1750 before finishing at 64.16 per dollar, a loss of 10 paise or 0.16 percent.

The euro slipped about 0.6 percent on the day to $1.1197, and was down 0.5 percent against the yen at 138.27."With no deal in sight, expectations for default and exit are likely to rise sharply in the days ahead," said Elsa Lignos senior currency strategist at RBC.

In the global economy, "a very strong" euro would make it difficult for countries such as Spain and Portugal, which adopted significant reforms during the economic crisis, to "harvest the fruits of those reforms, in exports, for example," Merkel told a congress for family-run businesses in Berlin.

The euro had less luck as talks on Greece showed no sign of reaching a deal. The single currency was off at $1.1254, from a high of $1.1387 set on Wednesday.

Europe`s main bourses picked after a slow start with the region`s benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 last up 0.5 percent, as hopes returned that Greece was close to sealing a deal with its creditors. Athens` stock market surged more than 6 percent.

The three main indexes in New York enjoyed one of their best days for weeks, snapping a four-day sell-off, thanks to a surge in banks and technology stocks as well as optimism over the Greek debt crisis.

In Tokyo afternoon trade, the US unit fetched 124.45 yen, against 124.47 yen in New York and 125.52 yen in Tokyo earlier Monday.

"There`s no doubt that the US economy and the labor market is improving, but the dollar is also overbought so even if it pushes higher on the back of a strong jobs number, it could be hit by profit-taking next week" ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision on June 17, Lien said.

Tokyo fell 0.44 percent by lunch, Hong Kong lost 0.20 percent and Seoul gave back 0.38 percent, but Sydney was flat and Shanghai rose 1.54 percent.

The rupee had snapped its 3-day losing streak against the US dollar by ending 21 paise higher at 63.80 in yesterday's trade.

Top money managers and investment strategists have been warning the U.S. Federal Reserve was preparing markets for an interest-rate hiking cycle and that other central banks were embarking on loose policies that would trigger volatility.

The rupee reacted downwards against the pound sterling to 98.58 from 98.36 previously and dropped against the euro to 69.87 from 69.77.

China`s vast and regular trade surpluses have seen it accumulate the world`s largest foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $3.73 trillion at the end of March.

The rupee had declined 5 paise to close at 63.57 in yesterday's trade on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers amid a sharp fall in equities.

In Tokyo trade, the dollar bought 120.83 yen, down from 120.91 yen just before the announcement and 121.07 yen in New York late Thursday.

Five of the world`s biggest banks are expected to be hit with a combined bill of more than $5 billion and criminal charges on Wednesday in a settlement with U.S. and British authorities over rigging of currency markets.

It moved in a range of 63.54 and 63.81 per dollar during the day.

A recovery in local stocks after early fall helped the rupee to rebound to quote at 63.66 at 1045 hrs, showing a rise of six paise or 0.09%.

With most major Asian markets closed for holidays, trading was thin in Tokyo where the euro bought $1.1206 and 134.10 yen compared with $1.1224 and 134.00 yen in New York.

The improved performance was clouded by a number of one-off charges, resulting in RBS posting an attributable loss of 446 million, compared with a 1.2 billion pound profit a year ago.