Rupee closes weak by seven paise at Rs 44.8975/9075 per USD

Mumbai, Nov 6 (UNI) The rupee today weakened by around seven paise and closed a low at Rs 44.8975/9075 against the dollar after hitting a six-month high of 44.8025 last week, its highest since April, forex dealers said.

The rupee drifted down a bit as the dollar strengthened due to solid US jobs growth. The markets also observed that the rupee was capped due to buying of dollars by the state-run banks on behalf of oil firms. During the course of the day, markets expect the rupee to trade below the level of 44.85 against the dollar.

During the whole day's session trade, six-month forward premia were lower at 1.83/85 per cent against 1.96 per cent on previous day and one-year forward premia quoted lower at 1.73/1.75 per cent compared with 1.83 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today fixed the reference rate at Rs 44.86 per US Dollar down by two paise from its Friday's rate of Rs 44.84 per US Dollar, a RBI spokesperson said.

However, the performance of the rupee against other currencies was mixed. The domestic currency closed down against Euro at Rs 57.02/04 (57.26/28) per unit, against Pound Sterling it was at Rs 85.12/14 (85.57/59) per unit and against Yen it was at Rs 37.92/94 (38.26/28) per 100 units.

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