Rupee down 19 paise at 53.55/dollar

Persistent demand for dollar from banks & its strengthening in overseas markets have affected rupee

The rupee recovered marginally after initial losses today but was still trading down 19 paise at 53.55 a dollar on persistent demand for the American currency from banks and its strengthening in the overseas forex markets.

The rupee resumed lower at 53.50 a dollar as against the last closing level of 53.36 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market, and dropped further to 53.63.

However, it recovered to 53.47 a dollar before quoting at 53.55 at 1040 hrs. It moved in a range of 53.47-53.63 during the morning hours.

In New York market, the dollar turned higher yesterday.

Meanwhile, BSE 30-stock index, Sensex, was trading 37 points or 0.20% down at 18,657.17 at 1050 hrs.