Mumbai: The rupee depreciated for the second day Thursday closing down by 12 paise at 63.42 against the US currency due to month-end dollar demand from importers and fall in stocks markets.
Persistent capital outflows too put pressure on the rupee, a dealer said.
"Rupee continued to trade low for the second consecutive day taking cues from month-end dollar demand from oil importers and weak local equities which has already corrected more than 7 per cent due to weak corporate earnings and concern over taxes," Veracity Group CEO Pramit Brahmbhatt said.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit commenced sharply lower at 63.52 a dollar from previous close of 63.30 and dropped further to a low of 63.7250 during the day.
Later, it recovered to a high of 63.38 before finishing at 63.42, revealing a fall of 12 paise or 0.19 per cent.
Yesterday, it closed down by 15 paise or 0.24 per cent.
"The trading range for the Spot USD/INR pair is expected to be within 63.10 to 63.80," Brahmbhatt said.
The benchmark BSE Sensex today plunged by 214.62 points. Foreign Institutional Investors (FPIs) sold shares worth USD 119.12 million yesterday, taking a total to USD 610.63 million during the first three days of the week, as per Sebi data.
On weekly basis, it snapped two-week of losing string and concluded the truncated week with a gain of 14 paise or 0.22 per cent.
The Forex market will remain closed tomorrow, May 1, 2015, on account of 'Maharashtra Day'.
In the forward market, the premium declined further on sustained receivings by exporters.
The benchmark six-month premium payable in September fell to 188-190 paise from 191-193 paise previously and forward contracts maturing in March 2016 also dipped to 401-403 paise from 408-410 paise.
The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for dollar at 63.5780 and for the euro at 70.5334.
The rupee remained weak against the pound sterling to 97.77 from 97.23 yesterday and also continued its downslide against the euro to 70.95 from 69.64.
It too fell back against the Japanese yen to 53.33 per 100 yen from Wednesday's close of 53.08.
