The Indian rupee erased intraday gains to ease on Monday, as weaker equities raised concerns whether this year's robust capital inflows could be sustained, and traders awaited the central bank's rate decision on Tuesday.
The partially convertible rupee ended at 46.645/655 per dollar, off the day's peak of 46.47, and about 0.3 percent below Friday's close of 46.50/51. Last Thursday, the rupee had dropped to as low as 46.82, its lowest since October 7.
"Stocks were the main factor. We heard of some demand from refiners," said a senior trader with a foreign bank. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at 46.65/75, marginally below the onshore spot rate. In currency futures, the active near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were at 46.6350 and 46.6375 respectively, weaker than 46.5175 and 46.5075 on Friday.