Rupee loses 11 paisa in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee weakened early on Tuesday morning to trade at 48.67 against the dollar at 12 noon. Dealers said choppy stocks acted as a dampener, while the dollar's strength against some major global currencies also weighed.

The rupee had closed on 48.56 on Monday and opened the Tuesday session at 48.61. The euro hovered near three-week low against the dollar, but the latter slipped against the yen paring gains made in the previous session.

One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at 48.81, weaker than the onshore spot rate, indicating a bearish near-term outlook. Indian key share maret index BSE sensex was trading up half a percent to 10327, but nervousness about earnings led to much choppiness.

Profit booking in bonds continues auabated with no near term trigger in sight. The yield on the 8.24 percent note due April 2018 rose 5 basis points to 5.21% as of 12 noon. It had ended at 5.16% on Monday. Ten-year yields have dropped 4.4 percentage points from a seven-year high of 9.55 percent reached in July. They fell 2.54 percentage points in 2008, the first yearly decline since 2003.

Liquidity remains most comforatable with call money rates trading at 6 month lows of 3.75% at 12 noon, with weighted average of 4.27%, as per CCIL website. THis average is much lower than Monday's 4.63%