Rupee trades weak on losses in domestic shares

MUMBAI: The rupee continued to be weak in afternoon trade on Monday with lower domestic shares fuelling concerns about capital outflows, with losses in most other Asian peers adding to the gloom.

The rupee traded weaker at 48.78 at 3.30 pm against the dollar as downswing in stocks was buttressed by the month end demand for the US currency. It closed at 48.66 against the dollar on Friday. Mixed economic reports from around the world left traders skeptical about underlying health of the global economy.

Shares were trading down 1.6 per cent as investors took profits after the market's 7.5 per cent rally over the past 1-�� weeks, with weak Asian peers also weighing on sentiment.

Asian currencies were mostly lower against the dollar.

Dealers said the largely in-line-with-expectation gross domestic product data for the June quarter did not have much impact on the market.

Domestic economy grew 6.1 per cent in the June quarter from a year earlier, roughly in line with forecasts, as government stimulus measures helped spur demand, although a poor monsoon threatens to crimp growth later in the year even as it drives prices higher.

In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contract on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both quoting at 48.96 each, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $560 million.