Rupee plunges to six-week low of 64.16 on dollar demand

Extending losses for the fourth trading session, the rupee fell on Monday by another 12 paise to close at a new 6-week low of 64.16 per dollar on persistent demand for the US currency from banks and importers, amid a massive plunge in equities.

The rupee resumed lower at 64.07 per dollar as against last Friday's closing level of 64.04 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and dropped further to 64.25 before finishing at 6-week low of 64.16, showing a loss of 12 paise or 0.19 per cent.

It has lost 61 paise, or 0.96 per cent, in the last four trading days.

The domestic currency had last ended at 64.26 per dollar on June 16, 2015.

It moved in a range of 63.99 per dollar and 64.25 per dollar during the day.

The dollar index was trading lower by 0.57 per cent against its major global rivals on Monday.

The dollar fell against the yen and the euro in Asia trade, ahead of closely watched events later this week including the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and US gross domestic product data.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices fell further in Asia, hurt by a slump in the manufacturing sector in China, the world's top energy consuming nation. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery fell 16 cents to $47.98 and Brent crude for September tumbled nine cents to $54.53 in late-morning trade.

The Indian benchmark Sensex fell sharply by 550.93 points or 1.96 per cent on Monday.

In the forward market, the premium for dollar ended narrowly mixed in view of uneven demand and supply movements.

The benchmark six-month premium payable in December moved down further to 193.25-194.25 paise from 194-196 paise yesterday while far-forward contracts maturing in June 2016 moved up to 421.5-423.5 paise from 421-423 paise.

The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 64.0028 and for the euro at 70.6143.

The rupee fell against the pound sterling to end at 99.55 from the last weekend's level of 99.19 and also declined to 71.03 against euro from 70.09.

It dropped further against the Japanese currency to 52.05 per 100 yen from 51.64 previously.