Re falls 26 paise to one-week low of 61.88 against dollar

The rupee today declined 26 paise to end the the day at one-week low of 61.88 against the dollar, completing losses for three days in a row.

Sustained demand for the US currency from importers amid a firm dollar overseas weighed heavily on the rupee, a forex dealer said.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency touched a high of 61.45 in intra-day trade on signs of sustained capital inflows.

The rupee, however, fell to a low of 61.95 soon on emergence of dollar buying by importers.

Finally, it settled the day at 61.88, a fall of 26 paise or 0.42 per cent from its previous close. In three sessions, the rupee has lost 40 paise or 0.65 per cent.

Meanwhile, benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 46.07 points to end the day at 21,251.12.According to Sebi data, foreign institutional investors infused USD 65.41 million.

The dollar index, a gauge of six other major global rivals, was up by 0.19 per cent.

Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Alpari Financial Services (India), said: "After a positive opening, rupee depreciated due to strong dollar demand from importers and closed on a weaker note against dollar.

Forward dollar premiums closed mixed on alternate bouts of buying and selling.The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in June declined to 212-214 paise from 214-216 paise.

Far-forward contracts maturing in December moved up to 443-445 paise from 442-444 paise previously.

The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 61.53 and for the euro at 83.37.The rupee dropped further to 101.62 against the pound from 101.24 previously, while it fell back to 83.72 per euro from 83.47. It, however, recovered slightly to 59.13 per 100 Japanese yen from 59.16.