The rupee on Wednesday lost 36 paise to close at an 11-month low of 45.99 against the dollar as importers, mainly oil refiners, rushed to buy the US currency amid continuing weak signs of fund outflows.

Dealers said heavy month-end dollar demand from importers to meet their monthly requirements put pressure on the rupee. The dollar was so strong that even its weakness in the overseas market did not help rupee to gain strength.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex today tumbled by over 213 points following weak Asian markets which fell after Moody’s downgraded Japan’s sovereign debt rating.

“Looking at the strong dollar, one can expect rupee to trade over 46.00 levels and the trading range for the USD/INR will be 45.70 to 46.20 tomorrow,” Alpari Financial Services (India) CEO Mr Pramit Brahmbhatt said.

The dollar index, consisting of six major currencies, was down by about 0.1 per cent, while New York crude oil was trading above $85 a barrel in the European market today.

In a fairly active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency opened lower at 45.70/72 a dollar from yesterday’s close of 45.63/64. Later, it dropped further in line with weakness in local stocks to a low of 46.04 before concluding at 45.99/46.00, showing a fall of 0.78 per cent, registering the biggest fall of 36 paise in last six months.

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