Rupee ends near a 6-month low tailing weak domestic equities

Indian rupee after commencing the session on weaker note depreciated further and settled near a 6-month low, dragged down by the strong dollar demand from oil importers amidst weak local shares which failed to gain ground despite India’s weekly food inflation moderating to 9.03% for the week ended August 6, from 9.90% in the previous week. Additionally, weaker regional counterparts also weighed on the sentiment. Meanwhile, the US dollar edged higher against most currencies as risk aversion mounted after another hefty sell-off on Wall Street and heightened fears of the European debt crisis.

Finally the rupee ended at 45.73, weaker by 31 paise from its previous close of 45.42/43 on Thursday. It touched a high and low of 45.49 and 45.75 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India's reference rate for the dollar stood at 45.6105 and for Euro it stood at 65.6845 on August 18, 2011. While, the RBI's reference rate for the Yen stood at 59.50 and the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 75.3235. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.