The rupee on Tuesday pulled away from more than a 15-month high as China's move to raise banks' reserve requirement and weaker local stocks raised demand for dollars. The dollar's rise following comments from a Chinese official favouring the US currency's recovery also weighed on sentiment.
The partially convertible rupee ended at 45.71/72 per dollar, about 0.8 percent weaker than its previous close of 45.34/35. It rose to 45.2850 on Monday, its strongest since September 22, 2008. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX both ended at the same 45.7750 level. One-month offshore non-deliverable forwards contracts was at 45.62/72, little changed from the onshore spot rate.