Rupee down by 22 paise at 55.43

The rupee snapped its two-day upward trend by depreciating a hefty 22 paise to close at 55.43 today on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers ahead of the US Fed meeting on monetary policy.

The rupee resumed lower at 55.29 per dollar compared to its last closing level of 55.21 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market.

With dollar demand rising, it dropped further to 55.49, before ending slightly better at 55.43 —a loss of 22 paise over yesterday. Capital inflows did not provide much relief to the rupee, said dealers.

In the previous two sessions, rupee had gained 23 paise.

In Sydney market, the dollar edged down today ahead of the conclusion of a two-day interest rate meeting at the US Federal Reserve, which may result in the central bank changing its interest rate guidance and announcing more bond buying.

In New York market, the euro rose yesterday to its strongest level versus the dollar in nearly five months after Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court cleared the way for Berlin to fund its share of any future bailouts.

Meanwhile, the Indian stock market benchmark Sensex ended higher by another 21.13 points at a seventh-month high.