Rupee breaches 50 level again, falls 52 paise

The rupee touched 50-level after a gap of nearly six weeks and ended down by 52 paise to 50.36/37 against the American currency on persistent dollar demand from importers coupled with higher dollar in overseas amidst weak equity markets.

The rupee resumed lower at 49.94/95 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market as against the last closing level of 49.84/85 per dollar and dropped further to 50.39 per dollar before ending at 50.36/37 per dollar, showing a loss of 1.04 per cent.

The domestic currency hovered in a range of 49.8750 per dollar and 50.39 per dollar during the day.

Sustained dollar demand from importers mainly affected the rupee value against the dollar, a forex dealer said.

Crude oil prices edged higher in Asian trade despite weak economic data from Europe and China, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, gained 18 cents to $106.90.

In London market, the euro fell to its lowest in two and a half weeks against the dollar in the early trade weighed by concerns about a Greek debt swap deal, with traders citing steady selling by macro funds.

Greek officials denied it had any plans to extend the March 8 deadline on its bond swap offer to private creditors following market rumours that the extend the cutoff date may be put back to increase participation in the offer.

Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark Sensex ended lower by 190 points or 1.09 per cent.