Rupee turns lower; RBI chief says no FX target

Reuters Market Eye - The rupee turns lower as absence of any soothing comments from RBI chief Subbarao on rupee hurts sentiment, says dealers.

The pair is at 60.30/31 versus Wednesday's close of 60.215/225 after remaining in a tight range most of the session.

The RBI Governor says he does not have a specific foreign exchange rate target, which raises concerns that the central bank is unlikely to defend any particular level strongly.

"The market was expecting something from the RBI to soothe the nerves and stop rupee weakness," a dealer with a state-run bank says.

The dollar held near a five-week high against a basket of currencies on Thursday, steadying as investors looked to a string of potentially market-moving events, including the European Central Bank's policy review and U.S. payrolls report.

(Reporting by Subhadip Sircar)