Rupee steady against dollar at 68.57

The rupee today ended almost flat as it gained one paisa to 68.57 against the US dollar on fag-end selling of American currency by banks and exporters.

The domestic unit resumed lower at 68.65 per dollar as against the yesterday's closing level of 68.58 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market and moved down further to 68.66 on initial dollar demand from banks and importers in view of foreign capital outflows amidst fall in equities.

However, it recovered from initial losses to 68.49 before ending at 68.57 per dollar, showing a gain of mere one paise or one%.

The domestic currency has gained by four paise or 0.06% in two days.

It hovered in a range of 68.49 and 68.66 during the days.

The dollar index was up 0.39% against a basket of six currencies in the later afternoon trade.

At Asian trade, yen gained against key peers like the dollar and euro today as sagging stocks and crude oil drove bids for the safe-haven currency.

In London, the British pound sank to a seven-year low today, as the prospect of the UK leaving the European Union continued to drag down the currency.

Sterling fell against the dollar to 1.3892, a level not seen since early 2009. The pound hasn't spent a sustained period below $1.40 since the mid-1980s.

The decline came amid fresh predictions of a plunge for the UK currency if British voters opt to quit the EU in a referendum in June.