Rupee falls by 22 paise

The Indian rupee turned weaker by 22 paise at 42.57/58 against the greenback on heavy month-end demand for dollar from oil refiners amid capital outflows.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency opened lower at 42.44/46 a dollar from yesterday’s close of 42.35/36 and declined further to settle the day lower at 42.57/58 per dollar.

During the day, it moved in a narrow range of 42.44 and 42.58 a dollar.

Forex dealers said a rise in global crude oil prices above $126 a barrel forced oil companies to buy dollars for their month-end import requirements, pushing the rupee downwards.

The central bank said that it was ending a two monthold scheme of providing foreign exchange to oil companies in return for oil bonds. The step could lead to dollar demand from these companies in the currency market.