Rupee moved in tandem with local stocks and lost 55 paise to end at

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48.83/84 against the US currency on Monday on hectic dollar coverings by corporates as well as demand from oil refiners.

Dealers at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market said the domestic unit failed to sustain its Friday’s recovery as equity markets fell sharply, raising fresh fears of capital outflows after Satyam Computer’s shocking accounting scam. They said some leading corporates heavily covered dollar positions after they sold the greenback last weekend, exerting pressure on rupee sentiment. Oil refiners too bought dollars in small lots as global crude oil prices traded at around $40 a barrel in Asian trade during the day.

In active trade, the rupee moved in a range between 48.38 and 38.87 during the day after resuming weak at 48.53/55 a dollar from its last weekend’s close of 48.28/29 a dollar. The Reserve Bank of India, however, fixed the reference rate for the US dollar at Rs 48.60 and for the euro at Rs 65.10.

The Indian benchmark Sensex on Monday closed down 296.42 points or 3.15 per cent amid sluggish Asian markets. Analysts said the Satyam accounts scandal triggered fears of more capital outflows from equity markets even as some leading fund managers ruled out possibility of any such adverse impact on portfolio investments. The rupee premiums on the forward dollar ended almost steady. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in June ended at 54-56 paise, fractionally up from 53-55 paise on Friday and the far-forwards maturing in December closed steady at 88-90 paise.

In cross-currency trade, the rupee firmed up against the pound and the euro but weakened further against the Japanese yen.

The domestic currency strengthened against the pound to end the day at Rs 73.00/73.02 from its last close of 73.65/67 and also ended weakened against the euro to Rs 65.38/40 from its previous close of

Rs 66.09/11. It, however, dropped further against the yen to close at Rs 54.35/37 per 100 yen from its last weekend’s close of

Rs 53.11/13 per 100 yen.