MUMBAI: Rupee declined most in more than a week on Friday, on worries that the European leaders will struggle to resolve the debt crisis denting demand for riskier assets, while dollar demand from oil importers and a slide in local equities also weighed. At 02:25 p.m., the partially convertible rupee was at 52.21/22 per dollar, sharply weaker from its 51.75/76 close on Thursday, after dipping to 52.35 in early trades -- a level not seen since Nov. 30. Most traders expect the rupee in the 52.10-52.40 range in the day. Traders said dollar buying by oil companies and negative domestic shares hit by growth concerns pulled down the unit. Risk-off sentiment globally as hopes dimmed that a European Union summit would make substantial progress toward containing the euro zone debt crisis also weighed. The euro dipped on Friday and languished near a one-week low as hopes dimmed that a European Union summit would make substantial progress toward containing the euro zone debt crisis. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvuri Subbarao on Thursday had said rupee was always on the RBI's radar and the central bank will intervene only to manage volatility. However, on Wednesday, Subir Gokarn, a deputy governor at the RBI, had said the bank does not want the current fall in the rupee to spiral out of control.

Source