Mumbai: The Indian rupee Monday depreciated by four paise to close at 61.40 against the Greenback on moderate dollar demand from importers, amid some hesitancy in equities.
A better dollar overseas also weighed on the rupee while sustained capital inflows restricted the rupee fall.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the rupee commenced lower at 61.50 a dollar from its previous close of 61.36. It moved in a range of 61.3750 and 61.5550 before concluding at 61.40, a fall of 4 paise or 0.07 percent.
The Indian benchmark S&P BSE Sensex, after logging its all-time peak, closed down by a mere over 5 points. FPIs/FIIs bought shares worth USD 310.50 million last weekend as per Sebi data. On Monday, they bought a net Rs 1,413.34 crore.
The dollar index was trading up by 0.03 per cent against its major global rivals.
Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity Group CEO, said: "Rupee traded range-bound and ended almost flat near previous close. It is expected to appreciate in coming days tracking gains in local equities. The trading range for the spot rupee is expected to be within 61.00 to 61.80."
In the forwards market, premium dropped on fresh receipts from exporters.
The benchmark six-month premium payable in April dipped to 226.5-228.5 paise from previous close of 233.5-235 paise.
Far-forward contracts maturing in October, 2015 also dropped to 443.5-445.5 paise from 456-458 paise.
The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for dollar at 61.4118 and for the Euro at 76.6665.
The rupee held stable against the pound to end at its previous closing level of 98.23 while rose to 76.71 per euro from 77.22 per euro. It improved further to 54.14 per 100 Japanese yen from 54.95.
