The rupee slipped slightly in relation to the dollar on the inter-bank market on Wednesday in the process of trading, dealers said. The rupee shed eight paisas versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 138.92 and Rs 138.95 respectively, they said.
In the third Asian trade, the New Zealand dollar bounced smartly on Wednesday after inflation data proved not nearly as soft as some bears had been wagering on, prompting a round of hurried short covering.
The kiwi popped up to $0.6771, from $0.6720 ahead of the figures, and looked set to test resistance around $0.6785. Speculators had shorted the currency in the hope inflation would be weak enough to narrow the odds on a cut in interest rates.
Instead, the consumer price index topped forecasts with a quarterly rise of 0.1 percent, to keep annual inflation steady at 1.9 percent.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 71.200, the US currency was available at 4.131 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the greenback was at 6.787 in relation to the Chinese yuan.

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Open Bid       Rs.139.00
Open Offer     Rs.139.50
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Bid Rate       Rs.138.92
Offer Rate     Rs.138.95
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