The rupee declined by three paise on Tuesday to close at more than a three-week low of 44.51/52 against the US currency, due to sustained dollar demand amid fresh capital outflows and weak equities.
Weak dollar overseas against its major rivals also pushed the rupee downwards. The dollar index was down by 0.18 per cent against basket of currencies in the European market.
The RBI has fixed the reference rate for the dollar at Rs 44.59 and the euro at Rs 64.81.
Bond prices rise
Bond prices increased as the high yields over the past few trading sessions attracted investors. The market also gained comfort from the fact that no auction of government securities was announced for this week, said dealers. However, the expectation of a rate hike by the RBI in its monetary policy continues to be a dampener.
The most highly traded 7.80 per cent-10-year-2021 paper opened at Rs 97.98 (8.10 per cent YTM) and closed at Rs 98.04 (8.09 per cent YTM), against the previous close of Rs 97.85 (8.12 per cent YTM).
Call rate stable
Call rates ended stable on the overnight call money market on alternate bouts of demand and supply.
The overnight call rate ended settled the day at its previous closing level of 7 per cent. It moved in a range of 7.10 per cent and 6.75 per cent.