The Indian rupee weakened against the dollar on Tuesday, after having traded steady for most of the day, as a fall in the euro boosted the US currency. The partially convertible rupee ended at 45.78/79 per dollar, off a low of 45.82 but weaker than Monday's 45.64/65. It had moved in a 45.55-45.665 band for most of the day.

One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 45.710/890. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX closed at 45.83. Total volume traded on both exchanges was moderate at $7.54 billion. India's central bank on Tuesday permitted the introduction of currency futures in euro, yen, and pound sterling with immediate effect, a move dealers said would improve liquidity of the futures market.

Copyright Reuters, 2010