MUMBAI: The rupee slipped on Tuesday, tracking a fall in local shares and weakness in the euro after fresh concerns on the European crisis hit risk appetite globally.
At 11:05 a.m. (0535 GMT) the partially convertible rupee was at 49.0800/0825 per dollar, after moving in a 48.8300 to 49.1500 range so far in the day. It had ended 0.1 percent stronger at 48.69/70 on Monday .
Traders expect the rupee to find support at 49.15 levels with exporters stepping in to sell dollars, but said sentiment in the share market would be a key determinant for the rupee in the near term.
"If the Nifty holds on to the 5,000 mark, we do not see the rupee weakening too much. But if it breaks that level, the rupee could touch 50 to a dollar," a trader with a state-run bank said.
The 30-share BSE index was down 0.6 percent while the 50-share NSE index was down 0.7 percent at 5,294.15 points.
The dollar pulled back slightly from a three-month peak against the yen on Tuesday as the impact of Japan's massive intervention faded a touch, while the euro came under renewed pressure.
The euro was at $1.3809, compared with $1.4001 at the end of local trade on Monday, while the index of the dollar against six major currencies was at 76.687 points versus 75.982 points.
"Weak stocks and re-emerging euro zone fears is what is strengthening the dollar," a trader with a private bank said.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has threatened the euro zone with a new crisis with his shock announcement that he will hold a referendum on the last-minute bailout deal struck only last week to try to contain the bloc's debt mountain.
The one-month onshore forward premium on the rupee was at 27.50 points from 26.25 on Monday, the three-month premium was at 66.50 points from 68.50 and the one-year premium was at 163.25 points, from 169.
The one-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 49.39, weaker versus the spot rupee rate.
In the currency futures market , the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange, the MCX-SX and the United Stock Exchange were all at 49.3450 respectively. The total traded volume on the three exchanges was $1.30 billion.
