Rupee near 1-week low against dollar; falls 24 paise to 54.18

The rupee today closed down by 24 paise at nearly one-week low of 54.18 against the dollar on the American currency demand from importers and banks on the back firm USD overseas.

However, recovery in local equities and sustained capital inflows limited the fall to some extent, a dealer said.

The rupee commenced strong at 53.78 a dollar, which also the day's high, as against 53.94 last Friday. It immediately turned negative and logged a low of 54.24 before settling at 54.18, a decline of 24 paise or 0.44 pct. In straight three sessions of trade, it has dipped by 38 paise or 0.70 per cent.

The Indian benchmark S&P BSE Sensex today bounced back by 98.00 points, or 0.50 per cent while FIIs injected Rs 953.95 crore last Friday as per provisional data with stock exchanges.

The dollar index, consisting of six major global rivals, was up by 0.10 per cent after announcement of a stronger-than- expected monthly US jobs report last weekend.

Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Alpari Financial Services (India) said, "Rupee depreciated today, although the fall was capped by the Indian shares who closed up by almost half per cent. Expect the rupee to trade above 54 levels in coming days.

"The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies traded positively after the US jobless rate fell. Immediate support for USDINR (Spot) pair is at 54.05. The trading range for the USD/INR pair is expected to be within 53.90 to 54.40.