Mumbai, Apr 19: The rupee today lost 37 paise to close at an over 3-month low of 52.15/16 against the US dollar on sustained demand for the American currency from banks and oil importers.
Forex dealers said sustained dollar demand from banks mainly affected the rupee sentiment.
The domestic currency fluctuated between 51.87 and 52.16 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.
It finally settled the day lower by 37 paise at 52.15/16 from the previous closing.
The last time the rupee ended at this level was on on January 9, 2012.
Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex ended higher by 111 points, or 0.54 per cent, at 17,503.71.
The dollar index was up by 0.16 per cent in European market toay while New York crude oil was trading above USD 103.27 a barrel.
The rupee premium for the forward dollar ended higher on sustained paying pressure from banks and corporates.
The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in September closed slightly better at 156-158 paise from 155-157 paise and far-forward contracts maturing in March also finished higher at 291-293 paise from 286-288 paise.
The RBI fixed the reference rate for the US dollar at 51.8930 and for euro at 68.0630.
The rupee continued to rule weak at 83.52/54 against the pound sterling from overnight level of 82.69/71 and also dropped further against the euro to 68.19/21 from 67.68/70.
It, however, fell back against the Japanese yen to 63.89/91 per 100 yen from last close of 63.65/67.
