The rupee on Monday recovered most of its early losses but still ended 3 paise down at 51.14/15 against the US currency due to late dollar selling by exporters.

The rupee resumed sharply lower at 51.37/38 a dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market from last close of 51.11/12. It immediately touched a low of 51.45.

Dealers attributed early steep weakness in the rupee to sluggish equities amid heavy dollar demand from importers.

However, late dollar selling by exporters helped the rupee recover, still ending slightly lower at 51.14/15. Last Wednesday, it had fallen by 39 paise or 0.77 per cent.

The BSE benchmark Sensex today plunged by nearly 264 points or 1.51 per cent.

“The dollar index which was trading at day high pared some of its gains towards mid-session which aided the rupee to recover some of its lost grounds,” Mr Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Alpari Financial Services (India) said.

“The rupee-dollar pair is expected to weaken further on a move above 51.65 to 51.80 and 52 levels,” he added.

The dollar index, a gauge of six major rivals, was up by over 0.1 per cent while New York crude oil was trading below $102 a barrel today.

The rupee premium for the forward dollar ended higher on fresh paying pressure from banks and corporates.

The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in September ended up at 172-174 paise from last Wednesday’s close of 167-169 paise and far-forward contracts maturing in March settled strong at 308-310 paise from 298-300 paise.

The RBI fixed the reference rate for the US dollar at 51.2765 and for euro at 67.0133. The rupee finished a tad higher at 81.09/11 from previous close of 81.10/12 and also improved further to 66.86/88 per euro from 67.18/20.

It, however, dropped further against the Japanese yen to 62.87/89 per 100 yen from last close of 62.10/12.

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