Mumbai, January 12: A day after touching its 16-month peak, the rupee today lost a hefty 38 paise against the US dollar on brisk buying of the American currency
banks and corporates amid distinct equity markets. Dealers in forex exchange said sustained weakness in equity markets, reflecting slowing down of capital inflows weighed against the rupee sentiment. Short covering of dollar after recent sharp fall too helped the dollar appreciate. The dollar was down by 42 paise against the local currency yesterday. After touching 16-month high of 45.34 against, the domestic unit opened lower at 45.45/46 a dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market. During the day the local unit hovered in the in the range of 45.36 and 45.7250 before closing at 45.71/72 a dollar. Dealers said that heavy dollar demand from banks and corporates mainly put pressure on the rupee. Meanwhile, falling for the fourth day in a row, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today ended lower by 104.20
points or 0.59 per cent, taking a total loss of 278.62 points or 1.57 per cent in four straight sessions. Global crude oil prices were trading below USD 82 a barrel in London. .
—-PTI–