Rupee breaches Rs 44 per USD mark

Mumbai, Oct 30: The rupee today breached the Rs 44 per US dollar mark to gain 21 paise and close at Rs 44.97/98 per USD, as Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold heavily in the market and also the 13k figure that Sensex reached today, had its bearing on the rupee performance, said a forex dealer from the Development Credit Bank today.

Earlier, the domestic currency opened at Rs 45.12/13 per USD and in the mid-morning traded at Rs 45.07/08 per USD.

The six-month forward premia was fixed at 1.82 per cent and the one-year premia was at 1.67 per cent.

Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) today fixed the reference rate at Rs 45.09 per USD as compared to the previous rate of Rs 45.22 per USD.

However, the performance of the rupee against other currencies was mixed. The domestic currency closed up against Euro at Rs 57.24 (57.33) and it closed down against Pound Sterling and Yen at Rs 85.52 (85.47) and Rs 38.31 (38.10) respectively.

UNI