The Indian rupee ended lower for the third straight day on Wednesday, dragged down by dollar buying by importers in a market nervous about robust growth prospects which could impact the pace of foreign capital inflows.
The rupee ended at 46.1250/1350 per dollar, off an early low of 46.18 and down from the previous close of 46.1100/1200. The local currency has lost 0.35 percent so far this week.
"There was demand for the greenback from importers and with dollar inflows thin, the rupee remained under pressure," said a chief dealer at a private sector bank. "Unless the central bank intervenes to sell dollars, the local currency could ease more."
The dollar gained against major currencies overseas after Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday the US economy had entered a sustainable expansion.
Analysts said the greenback's overseas rise would lead to more dollar purchases by nervous corporates who expect the rupee to weaken in the near term.
Traders expect the rupee to be under pressure from thinning foreign fund inflows into local markets, amid rising global interest rates.
Comments
Comments are closed.