Rupee trims initial losses, still down 21 paise at 65.75

The rupee trimmed initial losses but was still down by 20 paise to 65.75 per dollar after hitting fresh two-year low in the morning following continued dollar demand from importers and some banks amid steep fall in local equities on the back of weakening in greenback overseas.
The rupee resumed sharply lower at 65.73 per dollar as against yesterday's level of 65.54 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.
It moved in a range of 65.81 and 65.69 per dollar during the morning deals before quoting 65.75 at 1030 hrs.
The dollar index was down by 0.54 per cent at 95.46 as against a basket of six currencies in the early trade.

"The rupee is expected to depreciate as overnight US equities traded weak and closed in red. Negative sentiment in the market also force local equity to open weak as Asian markets have already opened on a poor note. The range for rupee is seen between 65-66 per dollar today." a dealer said.
Oil prices resumed their downward trend in early Asian trade with the US benchmark on track for its eighth weekly decline, pulled lower by weaker global stock markets and concerns over an economic slowdown in China.

The dollar withered near six-week lows in early Asian trade, reflecting doubts whether the Federal Reserve will be able to safely raise interest rates next month as once expected, given accumulating signs of stress in many parts of the global economy.

In New York, the dollar yesterday, weakened further after minutes from a July meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers suggested that several of them may not be ready to raise interest rates in September.
Meanwhile, the benchmark 30-share index was trading lower by 386.78 points, or 1.40 per cent, at 27,221.04 at 1035 hrs.