Rupee falls 15 paise vs US dollar

The rupee broke its straight three session of gaining string and fell back by 15 paise to close at 53.51 against the American currency following weakness in local equities amid fresh dollar demand from importers.

Firm dollar overseas also weighed on the rupee while sustained capital inflows capped the rupee fall to certain extent, a forex dealer said.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit resumed weak at 53.50 a dollar as against last close of 53.36 and moved in a narrow range of 53.42 and 53.63 before ending at 53.51, showing a fall of 15 paise.

In last three sessions, it had risen by 106 paise.

The Indian benchmark Sensex on Wednesday closed lower by 62.24 points or 0.33 per cent while Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying spree and they picked up shares worth $850.98 million, taking a total to almost $3.3 billion in current month till September 25 and a total almost $15.59 billion in 2012 so far, as per Sebi data.

Renewed dollar from importers, mainly oil refiners, to meet their month-end needs put pressure on the rupee.