Rupee down 19 paise to 45.20 on month-end dollar demand

The rupee shed 19 paise to 45.20 against the US dollar in the early morning trade today on month-end dollar demand.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit resumed lower at 45.05/07 per dollar as against the overnight closing level of 45.01/02 per dollar and moved down further to 45.20 per dollar.

It moved in a range of 45.05 per dollar and 45.20 per dollar.
     
Forex dealers said that month-end demand for dollars from importers, mainly oil refiners, weighed on the rupee against the dollar.
     
Crude Oil was lower in Asia today, tracking early trading losses in regional equity markets, they added.
     
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery fell 29 cents to $76.23 a barrel.
     
Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark Sensex today fell by 12.78 points, or 0.06 per cent to 20,104.60 level in the early morning trade amid weak global cues.