The rupee moved down by 8 paise to Rs 44.43 against the American currency in the late morning deals on the back of month-end dollar demand from importers despite weak dollar in overseas market.
The rupee resumed lower at 44.40/41 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market as against the last weekend’s level of 44.35/36 per dollar and moved down further to 44.43 per dollar before quoting at 44.42/43 at 11 a.m.
Month-end dollar demand from importers, mainly oil-refiners affected the rupee value against the dollar, a forex dealer said.
Meanwhile, crude oil fell in Asian trade on concerns over a possible US default if President, Mr Barack Obama, and lawmakers fail to reach a deal to raise the country’s debt ceiling, analysts said.
In Tokyo market, the dollar slipped against most major rivals as the deadlocked US debt-ceiling talks yielded few signs of progress.