RTRS:Indian rupee weak on importer demand, local shares
MUMBAI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee stayed
weak in afternoon trade on Tuesday, hurt by dollar demand from
domestic oil refiners and a fall in local equities due to
slowing growth and worries over the euro zone debt crisis.
* At 1:47 p.m. (0817 GMT), the rupee was at
53.04/05 to the dollar after dipping to 53.09 earlier in the
day. It had closed 0.3 percent weaker on Monday at 52.88/90.
* India imports most of its crude oil requirements, making
the local oil refiners biggest purchasers of dollars in the
domestic foreign exchange market.
* Volumes in the dollar-rupee market, however, remained
subdued after the central bank slashed trading limits in the
forwards market last week to curb speculation after the currency
had ploughed record lows, traders said.
* The country's main share index was down more than
0.5 percent, extending losses of the past four sessions.
(Reporting by Aditya Phatak; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)
