Rupee continues to tumble

The instability of the Indian National Rupee continues as it veered dangerously close to Rs. 50 to a dollar. The rupee fell by 34 paise to a 28 month low of Rs. 49.82 in early transactions on the Interbank Foreign Exchange.

Forex dealers attributed the rupee's fall to a level last seen in May, 2009, to strong dollar demand from importers and some banks and dollar gains against other currencies.

They said the continued slide in the equity market also put pressure on the Indian rupee.

Yesterday, the rupee had fallen by 124 paise to close at a two-and-a half-year low of Rs 49.57/58 against the American currency.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex was down by 204.71 points, or 1.25 per cent, at 16,156.44 in opening trade today.