Rupee Ends 10 Paise Lower Against Dollar.

MUMBAI: The rupee ended lower by 10 paise against the US currency on persistent dollar demand from banks and importers amid weak equity markets.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange ( Forex) market, the domestic unit closed 10 paise down at 44.68/69 per dollar.

Dealers said increased dollar demand from banks and importers and a fall in equity markets weighed on the rupee.

The rupee opened lower at 44.70/71 per dollar as against the yesterday's closing level of 44.58/59 per dollar and moved down further to 44.80 per dollar before settling the day at 44.68/69 per dollar. The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex snapped its three-day gaining string slipping 68 points, or 0.33 per cent, to end at 20,407.71. The US currency, however, weakened against major world currencies in overseas markets.

The dollar index hit an 8-1/2-month low against a currency basket today in London as demand for the euro put the US currency under broad selling pressure. The dollar index fell as low as 77.975, the weakest since late January.

Meanwhile, global crude oil was trading near USD 82 a barrel in London today.

The rupee premium for the forward dollar ended higher on sustained paying pressure from banks and corporates. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in March close better at 134-136 paise from 133-1/2-135 paise on Monday and far-forward maturing in September also finished higher at 249-251 paise from 245-247 paise previously.

The Reserve Bank of India has fixed the reference rate for the dollar at Rs 44.72 and the euro at Rs 61.34.

In cross-currency trade, the domestic unit declined further against the pound sterling, the euro and the Japanese yen.

The rupee dropped further to Rs 70.95/97 against the pound sterling from Monday's close of Rs 70.57/59 and slipped to Rs 61.52/54 per euro from Rs 61.13/15 previously.

It also moved down against the yen to Rs 53.64/66 per 100 yen from its last close of Rs 53.55/57.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com