Rupee turns weak against dollar

Mumbai: The rupee saw a sharp erosion in its value versus the US currency as the dollar appreciated remarkably against major currencies in the overseas market.

The weakness in the rupee was also attributed partly to continued slide in equity markets. The stock markets plunged by another 396 points during early trade.

In dull trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the Indian unit opened lower at Rs 45.9550/9650 per dollar from overnight close of 45.9125/9225 a dollar and later fell further to Rs 45.98/99 per dollar in late morning deals.

"If the dollar inflows and demand matched, the rupee is expected to remain at overnight closing levels," said a forex dealer at Inter bank Foreign Exchange.

Underlining the dollar's firmness in overseas market as the key factor that exerted pressure on the rupee, a leading forex dealer said the activity was lackluster with little dollar buying or selling.