No end to rupee woes; closes at 54.47

A positive close in Indian stocks and fresh dollar selling by exporters at higher levels also helped the rupee to remain somewhat stable near its overnight close, forex dealers said.

At the forex market, the domestic unit today resumed higher at 54.40 a dollar. However, fall in stocks amid dollar demand, later pushed the rupee to an all-time low of 54.60. Dealers said a fall in the New York crude oil prices to nearly six-month low below USD 93 triggered a demand for dollars.

RBI too believed to have intervened helping the domestic currency close at 54.47.

"Towards the end of the session, we saw some dollar selling by the central bank, which supported rupee," said Viral Shah, Head - Institutional Business, Geojit Comtrade.

Yesterday, the rupee had tumbled by 70 paise or 1.30 per cent to record its lowest close as RBI action to control the domestic unit's fall proved futile.

"Unless Euro strengthens against dollar with credible solution of Eurozone problems, especially Greece, rupee is less likely to appreciate," Moses Harding, Head - ALCO and Economic & Market Research, IndusInd Bank said.

The BSE benchmark Sensex, which dropped nearly 300 points yesterday, was up by over 210 points in late morning trade and finally closed 40 points higher today.

Abhishek Goenka, CEO, India Forex Advisors said: "the rupee is steadily weakening against the dollar, making a new low every day against the dollar. We can see a slight correction in rupee, if RBI and the Central Government takes the charge to support it." (MORE)