Re hits 57-level after 11-mths; down 16p in late morning trade

The rupee today hit the 57-level in the late morning trade after 11 months on persistent dollar demand from importers and banks.
The rupee resumed lower at 56.80 per dollar as against yesterday's closing level of 56.73 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and dropped further to a low of 57.00 per dollar after 11 months before quoting at 56.89 per dollar at 1040hrs, showing a loss of 16 paise.
It had last touched 57.00 level against the dollar on June 28, 2012.
It moved in a range of 56.89 per dollar and 57.00 per dollar during the morning deals.

In the international market, the euro held steady against the US dollar in the early trade, with investors set to hear what the president of the European Central Bank might say about efforts to aid the beleaguered euro-zone economy.
The euro traded at USD 1.309, nearly unchanged from its late Wednesday level in North America.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex was trading down by 102.62 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 19,465.60 at 1040hrs.
Oil prices were showing a mixed trend in Asia today, with traders treading carefully ahead of Chinese trade and industrial production data as the regional powerhouse shows signs of slowing down, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for delivery in July added two cents to USD 93.76 a barrel.