Rupee closes low at 44.74/75 per US dollar

Mumbai, Dec 18: The Rupee today closed lower by four paise and was quoted at 44.74/75 against the US dollar as compared to the previous close of 44.69/70 on fresh purchase of dollars by Foreign banks and local investors, dealers said.

Dealers said the Rupee drew strength on the back of firm stock indices.

The Rupee was steady in the morning trade due to yen's weakness against major currencies and mild dollar buying from oil firms. the Markets expect the Rupee to appreciate further to levels of 44.65 against US dollar in the days to come.

Forward premia rose during the day due to payments coming in from importers. Six months and twelve months premia ended at 2.96 per cent (2.95 per cent) and 2.60 per cent (2.55 per cent) respectively.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today fixed the reference rate at Rs 44.79 per US dollar, down by 13 paise from last week's rate of Rs 44.66 per US dollar, a RBI spokesperson said here.

However, the performance of the domestic unit against other currencies was mixed. The Rupee closed down against Euro at Rs 58.60/61 (58.58/59) per unit. Against the Pound Sterling, it was at Rs 87.25/26 (87.46/47) per unit and against the Japanese Yen, it was at Rs 37.94/96 (37.80/82) per 100 units, dealers said.

UNI