MUMBAI (Commodity Online): The Indian rupee opened sharply lower on Monday, June 27, 2011, its lowest level in a month as euro extended losses against the US dollar through the new week.
Rupee opened down by almost 13 paise at Rs. 45.13 per dollar. Moreover, a weak start to the local equities also dragged down the domestic unit to an intraday low of 45.14.
However domestic shares that recouped some of its initial losses, aided rupee rebound to a high of 45.07 so far during the day. The Indian unit in the spot currency market was last seen trading at 45.10, lower by around 12 paise or 0.26% as compared to previous close at 44.99.
Key benchmark indices surged to 2-1/2-week highs in morning trade as index heavyweights reversed initial losses. A bout of volatility was witnessed at the onset of the trading session as the market slipped into the red weighed by weak Asian stocks.
Asian stocks fell on Monday, after regulators raised capital adequacy requirements for the world's biggest lenders and amid concern the US economy is faltering. At the time of writing equities gained slight momentum and India's key benchmark BSE Sensex was up around 179 points at 18419.17 while S&P CNX Nifty was also higher by around 58 points at 5529.15
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, is currently higher by 0.34% at 75.92. Among Asian currencies, the Taiwan dollar is down 0.25% at 28.96, the Indonesian Rupiah 0.27% at 8622.50 and the South Korean won by 0.73% at 1086.68 as against the US dollar.
In the domestic currency futures market on the NSE, the forward month June USD/INR contract opened on Monday at 45.10, same as the spot market rupee. The contract hit an intra day high at 45.15 and registered a low at around 45.08 so far during the day. Meanwhile, euro- rupee contract fell 0.46% at 63.72 from 64.01 in the previous session.
The JPY/INR contract dropped 0.35% at 55.86 from 56.06 and GBP/INR contract by 0.29% to be at 71.88 from 72.10 as at close on Friday. At the time of writing, the NSE as well as MCX Jun 2011 USD/INR contract was trading at around 45.11 higher by around 10 paise or 0.22% compared to previous close at 45.01
