Rupee down by 11 paise against US dollar

Mumbai, Jan 13 (PTI) The Indian rupee today lost 11 paiseto close at 45.24/25 against the dollar due to a sharp fall instock markets amid a fresh dollar demand from importers andbanks.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, thelocal currency in early trading was up 13 paise at 45.00 fromits last closing.

A fall in equities, however, weighed on the rupee and itdipped to the day''s low of 45.27 before concluding at45.24/25.

Dealers said signs of sustained capital outflows in thedays of to come also put pressure on the rupee.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index, Sensex,meanwhile reversed its overnight gains and ended sharply lowerby 351.28 points or 1.80 per cent.

According to forex dealers, the rupee was firm at initialstages due to sustained selling of dollar by banks andexporters but good dollar demand in the later part of the dayfrom importers and banks kept the rupee under pressure.

The US dollar index fell for the third day in a row inNew York market yesterday to mark its lowest level inmore than a week . It was also down by 0.05 per cent against abasket of currencies in London today.

Global crude oil price was trading below USD 92 a barrelin London today.

Meanwhile, food inflation dropped to 16.91 per cent forthe week ended January 1, 2011 from 18.32 per cent in theprevious week, but is still considered high.

The rupee premium for the forward dollar dipped furtheron sustained receivings by exporters. The benchmark six-monthforward dollar premium payable in June tumbled to Rs 129-131paise from 137-139 paise previously.

Far-forward contracts maturing in December also closedlower at 244-246 paise from 253-255 paise on Wednesday.

The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate forthe dollar at Rs 45.13 and the euro at Rs 59.10.

The rupee reacted downwards to Rs 71.24/26 against thepound sterling from Tuesday''s close of Rs 70.33/35 and alsodropped sharply to Rs 59.46/48 per euro from Rs 58.52/54previously.

It too declined against the yen to Rs 54.48/50 per 100yen from its last close of Rs 54.23/25.