Snapping its two-day gaining streak, the rupee today weakened by 15 paise to close at 63.30 against the US currency on fresh month-end dollar demand from importers amid fall in stock markets.
The rupee resumed lower at 63.22 per dollar as against the previous closing level of 63.15 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and hovered in a range of 63.14 and 63.3850 during the day.
It concluded at 63.30 per dollar, showing a loss of 15 paise, or 0.24 per cent. The domestic currency had gained 41 paise or 0.65 per cent in the previous two days.
"Month-end dollar demand from importers forced the rupee to depreciate over a quarter per cent to close on a weak note," Veracity Group CEO Pramit Brahmbhatt said, adding that the dealers also took cues from weak local stocks markets which closed down by over half per cent.
Consistent selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) on concerns over the MAT issue was also a reason behind fall in the rupee. FPIs sold shares worth Rs 1,532.84 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.
Analysts said the trading range for the Spot USD/INR pair is expected to be within 63.00 to 63.60.
The dollar index was down by 0.13 per cent against a basket of six major global currencies.
In the overseas market, the US dollar weakened against the euro and a host of other rivals for a fourth session yesterday.
