Rupee trims initial losses vs dollar, still down 32 paise

The rupee trimmed its early losses but was still quoted down by 32 paise to 66.87 per dollar in late morning trade today on month-end demand for the US currency from banks and importers.
The rupee resumed lower at 67.00 per dollar as against the last closing level of 66.55 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and dropped further to a low of 67.43 per dollar.
However, it recovered to 66.61 before quoting 66.87 per dollar at 1050 hours.
Month-end dollar demand from importers mainly affected the rupee value, a forex dealer said.
In the global market, the US dollar swung between gains and losses in the early trade, but the currency was poised to notch a weekly advance after Syria-related tensions weighed on risk appetite and aided the greenback.

Oil prices fell in Asian trade as fears eased of an imminent Western military strike against Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons, analysts said.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in October, was down USD 1.41 at USD 107.39 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the BSE-30 share index Sensex firmed up by 145 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 18,545.96 at 1055 hours.