Rupee slips 12 paise to 63.82 vs US dollar

The rupee depreciated by 12 paise to end at 63.82 against the American currency owing to robust dollar demand from importers amid steep losses in local equities after the RBI took a cautious stance on the economic recovery and hinted there may not be more cuts in near-term.

The apex bank today cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 bps to 7.25 per cent for the third time this year to steer economic growth.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex on Tuesday plunged by 661 points today to 27,188.38 as the RBI took a cautious stance on the economic recovery.

The rupee opened steady at 63.70 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange, but later turned weak to touch an intra-day low of 63.97 following heavy dollar demand.

However, the local currency recovered smartly for a brief period to hit a high of 63.66 during the trade before sliding back to end at 63.82, showing a fall of 0.12 paise, or 0.19 per cent.

Globally, the dollar was broadly lower against basket currencies amid uncertainty over Greek debt woes.

The US dollar index was trading substantially lower by 0.69 per cent at 96.85.