Mumbai: Ahead of US Federal Reserve policy meeting outcome, Indian rupee on Wednesday dipped three paise to end at over one-week low of 61.35 against the greenback on dollar demand from importers, extending losses for the third day.
Firm local equities, fresh capital outflows and a weak dollar overeas, however, restricted the rupee fall to a major extent, a forex dealer said.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex), the domestic unit commenced higher at 61.26 a dollar from previous close of 61.32 and immediately touched a high of 61.25. Later, it fell back to a low of 61.3650 before concluding at 61.35 -- a fall of three paise or 0.05 per cent. This is its weakest closing level since ending at 61.36 on October 20.
Rupee had fallen three paise on Monday and two paise on Tuesday.
The Indian benchmark S&P BSE Sensex today spurted 217.35 points, or 0.81 per cent. FIIs sold shares worth USD 11.60 million yesterday, as per Sebi data.
The dollar index was trading lower by 0.06 per cent against its major global rivals.
Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity Group, CEO, said: "Rupee continues to trade in a tight range...
"Traders are eagerly waiting for the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting with the anticipation that the Federal Reserve won't raise interest rates for some time. The trading range for the spot rupee is expected to be within 60.80 to 61.80."
In the forwards market, premium moved sideways.
The benchmark six-month premium payable in March eased further to 198-200 paise from previous close of 200-202 paise. Far-forward contracts maturing in September, 2015 rose to 428.5-430.5 paise from 427-429 paise.
The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for dollar at 61.3175 and for the Euro at 78.1430.
The rupee remained weak against the pound to end at 98.87 from 98.85 previously while declined further to 78.14 per euro from 77.91. It also turned slightly negative to settle at 56.76 per 100 Japanese yen from 56.74.
