Rupee pares initial losses, still down 17 paise against dollar

Indian unit opens sharply lower at 63.52 to last closing of 63.30, slumps further to 63.58 before quoting at 63.47 at 1100 hrs

The rupee pared its initial losses, but was still down by 17 paise at 63.47 against the greenback in late morning trade on sustained bouts of month-end dollar demand from banks and importers amid weak equities.

The rupee opened sharply lower at 63.52 to the last closing level of 63.30 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, it slumped further to 63.58 before quoting at 63.47 at 1100 hrs.

It hovered in a range of 63.58 to 63.38 during morning deals.

At overseas, in New York, the dollar was lower against its major rivals in early trade over the doubts about the strength of the US economic recovery.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was trading lower by about 226.53 points or 0.83 per cent at 26,999.40 in late morning trade.