Rupee continues to slide vs dollar, drops 15 paise

Month-end dollar demand from importers despite weakness of the US unit in overseas markets affects rupee

The rupee fell against the American currency for the fourth consecutive day today, slipping another 15 paise to 56.53 per dollar on month-end dollar demand from importers despite weakness of the US unit in overseas markets.

The rupee resumed lower at 56.50 per dollar as against the last closing level of 56.38 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market. It hovered in a range of 56.39 and 56.60 before quoting at 56.53 per dollar at 1050 hrs.

Persistent dollar demand from banks and month-end buying from oil refiners mainly affected the rupee value against the greenback, a forex dealer said.

In New York, the dollar fell against major rivals yesterday on soft US economic data and end-of-the-month technical moves.

The ICE dollar index, which measures the greenback's performance against six other major currencies, fell to 83.022 yesterday, down from 83.680 previously.

Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark Sensex dropped by 223 points, or 1.10%, to quote at 19,992.38 in late morning trade.