The rupee ended stronger at 61.85 (previous close: 61.94) against the dollar after Finance Minister, P.Chidambaram said that the country will further reduce the twin deficits in the next financial year.
He also said that the fiscal and current account deficits will be controlled within the projected range in the current financial year.
The Finance Minister made these observations during his Vote-on-Account (interim budget) on Monday.
The rupee bounced back by 49 paise to close at a three-week high of 61.93 against the US dollar on Friday as the WPI inflation eased significantly to an eight-month low of 5.05 per cent in January from 6.16 per cent in December, providing considerable relief to policymakers battling high inflation and weaker growth rate.
The inter-bank call money rate, the rate at which banks borrow money from each other to meet short-term requirements, closed lower at 7.05 per cent against the previous close of 8.8 per cent.
Yield on the 10-year benchmark 8.83 per cent Government security, maturing in 2023, closed almost flat at 8.80 per cent. Bond prices rose a tad to 100.14 from 100.11. Bond prices and yields move in the opposite direction.