Rupee fails to maintain initial gains vs dollar, down 11 paise

The rupee failed to maintain initial gains and was quoted lower by 11 paise to 63.95 per dollar in late morning trade today on fresh demand for the US currency from importers.

The rupee resumed lower at 63.90 per dollar as against the last closing level of Rs 63.84 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market (Forex).

It hovered in a range of 63.68 and 64.20 before quoting at 63.95 per dollar at 1040 hours.

Bouts of dollar demand from importers along with volatility in local equities mainly affected the rupee sentiment, dealers said.

In the global market, the US dollar rose against the basket currencies in early trade as US President Barack Obama called for diplomacy in dealing with alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria but kept open the possibility of military action against the Assad regime.

Meanwhile, the BSE-30 share index Sensex was quoted lower by 76 points or 0.38 per cent to 19,921.28 at 1050 hours.