Rupee closes three months low at 44.63/64

Mumbai, Mar 5: The rupee today closed to three months low at 44.63/64 per US dollar, with a major loss of 34 paise, from the previous day's close of 44.29/30 on sustained heavy buying of dollars by big operators.

The domestic unit fell to its lowest level against the USD after another slide in the local stocks sparked fears of capital outflows.

The partially-convertible rupee weakened to 44.64 per USD, mirroring weak Asian currencies, before ending at 44.63/64, 0.8 per cent lower than Friday's 44.29/30.

Indian shares fell 3.7 per cent to their lowest close in five months, extending last week's 5.5 per cent slide. The benchmark has fallen about 16 per cent since its peak on February 9.

The Asian currencies dropped, weighed down by falling stocks across the region, as a global sell-off continued amid shrinking risk appetite. MSCI's index of Asian stocks outside Japan fell about 3 per cent.

Rating agency Standard and Poor said today that India's economic growth was likely to be moderate in the next fiscal year, beginning April, which may reduce demand for local stocks.

Forward premia dollar was down by ten paise as importers covered short positions at lower levels.

Six-month and 12-month forward premia ended at 2.79/80 per cent (3.01/02) and 2.80/81 per cent (2.93/2.94) respectively.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today fixed the reference rate at Rs 44.49 per USD, down by 21 paise from its Friday's rate of Rs 44.28 per USD, according to a RBI spokesperson.

Besides, the rupee displayed a firm trend against major world currencies. The Euro closed low at 58.43/45 (58.28/30), while Pound finished at 85.75/76 (86.29/30) per unit each and Yen was quoted at 37.80/81 (37.80/81) per 100 units, brokers added.

UNI