Evening report mar 25

ndian unit rose and ended at 50.73/74.Premiums down as exporters sell forward dollars. US dollar declined from a 6-day high against the European currency and a 2-day high against the Swiss franc.The euro advanced against the dollar and pared an earlier loss versus the yen after German business confidence fell in line with economists’ expectations. The single currency also pared an earlier decline versus after the Ifo institute in Munich said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, dropped to 82.1 in March, from 82.6 in February. That’s the worst reading since November 1982. Economists expected a decline to 82.2.The pound fell against the dollar and the euro after the country’s main stock index dropped and as HSBC Holdings Plc said it will cut about 1,200 jobs in the U.K., adding to signs the recession is deepening. The pound retreated from near the highest level since December versus the yen as the cost of protecting European corporate bonds from default rose, sapping demand for riskier assets. Reports tomorrow may show house prices slipped and retail sales contracted in February, according to separate Bloomberg economist surveys. Against the Japanese yen, the greenback traded down during today's early deals.The Ministry of Finance said that Japan saw a merchandise trade balance of 82.4 billion yen in February, marking the first surplus in five months. The February figure came in better than expectations for a 13.7 billion yen deficit following the revised record 956.9 billion yen shortfall in January. The original figure came in at -952.6 billion yen.