The Indian rupee dropped further by 46 paisa to 46.90 against the greenback on persistent demand for dollar from oil companies amid sharp fall in equity market.
The rupee resumed lower at 46.85/87 per dollar against the yesterday's closing level of 46.44/45 per dollar and dropped further to 46.90 per dollar before quoting at 46.77/78 at 1030 hours.
Asian stocks slumped today as the Dubai-debt shockwaves hit the region, shaking banking shares and pushing yen to a fresh 14-year high against struggling dollar as investors unwound risky trades.
Dealers at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market said oil refiners bought dollars for their monthly import payments.
They said a sharp fall in local stocks after a meltdown in Asian markets also weighed on the rupee sentiment.
Indian benchmark Sensex today dropped further by 338 points or 2.01 per cent in the early trade.
___________________________________________________________
(Updated at 1023 hrs)
The Indian rupee today plunged by 38 paise against the US dollar in early trade largely on weak Asian cues.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit traded at 46.82 dollar against the last close of 46.44 in first five minutes of trading.
Dealers said the domestic currency came under pressure mainly because of fear of capital outflows by foreign funds as equity market is expected to open lower in tandem with other Asian markets.
However, the dollar's weakness against some other international currencies capped rupee's losses.