Rupee soars...

Express news service

Posted online: Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 2301 hrs IST

MUMBAI:
The rupee soared to its strongest in a month on Friday as overseas capital flowed in for the fiscal year end and traders speculated the central bank had stepped back to let it rise after inflation hit a 14-month high. The rupee ended 1 per cent up at 39.8950/9050 per dollar, not far off from the day’s peak of 39.85 and its strongest close since February 28. It ended at 40.0950/1050 on Thursday.

...but commo markets hit

Sentiment in the commodity markets took a hit largely because of inflation figures. Investors offloaded their holdings on speculation that the government might take steps to bring down prices. “In the case of soya oil, it went down on account of it being an international commodity. Margins in Malaysia have gone up, there is also an export cess on soya oil so traders here sold heavily,” said Naveen Mathur of Angel Commodities Broking House.