The Indian rupee ended down after falling to its lowest in more than seven weeks on Tuesday, reversing early gains, after the main stock index posted its biggest single-day percentage point fall in five and half months. Persistent dollar buying by oil importers and risk averseness of foreign investors also weighed on the unit, dealers said.
The partially convertible rupee ended at 45.31/32 per dollar, after falling to 45.33, its lowest since September 24. It rose to 45.08 in early trade. On Monday, the rupee had closed at 45.2250/2350. The euro rose against the dollar and the yen on Tuesday following a stronger-than-expected reading of German economic sentiment.
The dollar index, which measures the dollar's value against a basket of currencies, hit a six-week high of 78.744 earlier and was up 0.23 percent at 78.698 at close of the local market. "The dollar rally may persist if the dollar index closes above 76.50 today," Naik said.
One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 45.63 to a dollar, weaker than the onshore spot rate, suggesting a bearish near-term outlook. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange, MCX-SX and United Stock Exchange closed at 45.4325, 45.4400 and 45.4350 respectively, with the total traded volume on the three exchanges at an average moderate $6.6 billion.
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