Rupee Ends Lower by 11 Paise Against Dollar.

MUMBAI: After paring all its early gains, the rupee  today ended lower by 11 paise to close at 45.40/41 against the dollar, with demand for the US currency picking up in fag-end trading.

Dealers in foreign exchange said the rupee gained strength in early trade on signs of fresh capital inflows and dollar selling by exporters.

Foreign funds injected USD 318.92 million in equities on November 19.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange ( Forex) market, the local currency opened better at 45.24/25 per dollar from its previous close of 45.29/30 and immediately touched a high of 45.15.

However, late month-end dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners, saw the rupee losing the gains. It concluded at 45.40/41.

The dollar index, consisting of six major currencies, was up by a modest 0.05 per cent in European market today.

Meanwhile, the Indian Sensex on the Bombay Stock Exchange bounced back by over 372 points or 1.90 per cent.

Global crude oil was trading near USD 82.5 a barrel in London today.

The rupee premium for the forward dollar ended steady to easy. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in April slipped to 118-1/2-120 paise from 119-1/2-121 paise on last Friday.

Far-forward contracts maturing in October closed at its previous level of 213-215 paise.

The Reserve Bank of India has fixed the reference rate for the dollar at Rs 45.29 and the euro at Rs 62.27.

In cross-currency trade, the domestic currency moved down further against the pound sterling and the euro while held stable against the Japanese yen.

The rupee softened to Rs 72.72/74 against the pound sterling from last weekend's close of Rs 72.69/71 and also remained weak against the euro to end at Rs 62.28/30 per euro from Rs 62.14/16 previously.

It, however, settled steady against the yen at its last closing level of Rs 54.40/42 per 100 yen.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com