Rupee weak on local shares, exporters put brakes on fall

Rupee weakened in afternoon trade on Friday in tandem with the fall in domestic equities, but dollar selling by exporters around the level of 44.95 prevented a further fall.

* At 2:40 pm, the partially convertible rupee was at 44.9350/9400 per dollar, versus Thursday's close of 44.90/91.

* The rupee has moved in 44.8275-44.9650 range so far in the day and is likely to stay in 44.95-45.00 band in rest of trade.

* Traders said rupee direction may be influenced by euro's move as Greece struggles to avoid a debt default.

* The euro was at $1.4170 in the local forex market after rising to intraday high of $1.4221. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.20% at 75.601 points.

* The euro fell against the dollar on Friday, hurt by fears the euro zone debt crisis could spiral out of control, and could test the previous session's three-week lows if policymakers delay plans to find a solution for Greece.

* Indian shares were on course for a second weekly fall as they erased early gains and dropped over 0.4% on Friday, with investor confidence dented by rising domestic interest rates and the debt woes in Greece.