Rupee falls against USD, closes at 42.07

Mumbai, Apr 19 (UNI) The Rupee today fell for the third straight session to close at 42.07 against the US dollar as compared to yesterday's close of 42.01, dealers said.

Earlier in the morning, the Rupee had dipped past 42.20 to reach a day's low of 42.22 as oil refineries and state-run banks took advantage of low attractive levels.

Later, the domestic unit clawed back smartly to register a day's high of 42.05 on account of dollar liquidation in the market owing to the high inter-bank overnight call rates in the money market.

Weak dollar, seen globally, also kept supporting the Rupee at regular intervals.

Forward premia fell in the session as weaker spot Rupee induced traders to sell forwards in the market. Importers entered the market for a brief period during the later part of the trade. Six-month and 12-month forward premia closed at 6.10 per cent (6.28) and 4.68 (4.78) respectively.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today fixed the reference rate at Rs 42.15 per US dollar, down by 26 paise, from its yesterday's rate of Rs 41.89 per USD, according to a RBI spokesperson here.

The home currency was today stronger against the major world currencies. Against the Euro, it closed higher at 57.002 (56.85), Pound finished lower at 83.90 (83.94) per unit each and Yen was quoted higher at 35.57 (35.37) per 100 units, brokers added.

UNI