ENM: Rupee trims losses as dollar falls sharply vs majors
MUMBAI: The Indian rupee pared most losses by Thursday afternoon tracking a sharp fall in the dollar against major currencies and also boosted by a marginal recovery in the local share market. By 1:45 p.m., the partially convertible rupee was at 47.17/18 per dollar, after touching 47.35 and little weaker than Wednesday's close of 47.16/17.
On Monday, the rupee had dropped as low as 47.3850, its weakest since June 7. * The index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.6 percent. The dollar slid close to a seven-month low against the yen on Thursday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economic outlook was "unusually uncertain", sparking a sell-off in riskier assets.
Indian shares were trading marginally lower, with financials leading the fall, tailing weak Asian markets. The rupee is forecasters' top bet for appreciation among BRIC currencies, a new Reuters survey shows, as the growing economy draws foreign investors.
One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 47.37, weaker than the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both at 47.2125, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $2.94 billion.