Making importers jittery, the rupee closed below the 51 level at 51.34/35 per dollar for the first time in the 32 months, 0.8 per cent weaker than Thursday’s 50.90/91 close, after sliding to 51.41 — a level last seen on March 18, 2009. With this, the rupee has lost 2.4 per cent during the week, its biggest weekly slide in eight weeks, as weak domestic market and demand for dollars continued to weigh, although corporate dollar sales pulled it off a 32-month low hit earlier on Friday. The rupee’s all-time low of 52.20 is likely to be seen, but with every 10 to 20 paise depreciation, some resistance is expected, said a dealer. The market was abuzz with speculation that the Reserve Bank has probably asked public sector banks to release dollar to arrest the fall in rupee. The rupee resumed lower at 51.05/06 per dollar as against last close of 50.90/91. It dropped further to 51.41 a dollar before ending at 51.34/35 a dollar. Demand for the greenback from importers including oil refiners also weighed on the Indian unit, traders said.

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