Rupee slips from two-week high; down 6 paise at 61.83 against USD

Mumbai: The rupee fell from its two-week high and ended 6 paise down at 61.83 against the Greenback on fresh dollar demand from importers amid weak equities. The local currency was also dragged down as the US dollar was trading at its highest level in over five years against a basket of major currencies, buoyed by a surprisingly robust  employment data. Fresh capital outflows as well as renewed dollar demand from oil companies amidst some caution ahead of the inflation data based on Wholesale Price Index also added pressure on the local unit, a forex dealer said.        

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex), the domestic unit resumed sharply lower at 61.94 as against last weekend's closing level of 61.77. It drifted further to touch an intra-day low of 61.98 before regaining some ground from earlier nervousness to finish at 61.83, posting a fall of 6 paise, or 0.10 per cent. The rupee had recovered 15 paise to close at two-week  high of 61.77 against the dollar on last Friday.        

Meanwhile, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex plummeted sharply by 1.19 per cent or 339 points - its biggest one-day fall in nearly eight weeks. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs  109.45 crore on last Friday, as per provisional data. The dollar index, which measures the Greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was marginally up by 0.04 per cent after hitting a peak of 89.53, the strongest level since March 2009.