Rupee closes weaker at 45.11/12 per USD

Mumbai, Apr 20: Rupee closed weaker by two to three paise at 45.11/12 per US dollar as compared to the previous close of 45.0950/1050, according a foreign exchange (forex) dealer here.

A weaker dollar in international market didn't have much impact on the rupee, but soaring oil prices and foreign fund outflow in equity markets led to weaker close for the rupee.

Earlier, the rupee today opened flat at 45.10/12 per US Dollar against the previous close of 45.0950/1050, the dealer said.

However, it dipped to 45.1650/1750 in the mid-morning session at around 1100 hrs.

Crude oil price in the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) touched a new high of USD 74.35 per barrel and traded at 72.23 in the morning, which was keeping rupee under pressure.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index (Sensex) crossed 12,000 mark today, closing with a gain of 143.75 points at 12,039.55, which led to near flat close for the rupee.

There was an outflow of Rs 273.90 crore in the equity markets on Tuesday according to market regulator SEBI, which is impacting the rupee adversly.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reference rate for the rupee versus US dollar was at 45.15, one paisa down from the previous close.

The six-month forward premia ended lower at 1.02 per cent, as compared to previous close at 1.09 per cent.

The one-year forward premia also ended lower at 1.04 per cent, as compared to the last close at 1.08 per cent.

The cross-currency closing rate for the rupee against the euro was 55.61(55.62), which was a paisa down, for pound sterling it was 80.34 (80.46), which was 12 paise down and for the Japanese yen it was 38.30 (38.52), which was 22 paise down from the previous close.

UNI