Mumbai: The rupee on Friday snapped its two-day gaining streak against the US dollar by losing 6 paise to end at 62.36 on fresh demand for the American currency from importers amid fall in global crude oil prices.
The rupee opened slightly lower at 62.33 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market as against the last closing level of 62.30, and hovered in a tight range of 62.30 and 62.39 before concluding at 62.36 per dollar, showing a loss of 6 paise or 0.10 per cent.
The domestic currency had gained 21 paise or 0.34 per cent in the previous two days.
In the Asian markets, the dollar drifted lower against the yen and the euro on Friday, as a lack of fresh trading cues made investors reluctant to take lopsided, strong positions ahead of the weekend.
The greenback tracked the overnight weak tone against the yen - which followed downbeat initial jobless claims in the US - but remained trapped in an extremely tight range, given a lack of fresh cues.
Amid thin liquidity, investors avoided making major moves especially after a series of soft economic data in the US.
Oil prices fell in Asia on Friday as investors locked in profits following a six-day rally, with a rise in OPEC's output in March also adding to downward pressure, analysts said.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery dipped 43 cents to USD 56.28 and Brent crude for June eased 48 cents to USD 63.50 in late-morning trade.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex continued to fall for the third consecutive day on Friday by ending lower by 223.94 points or 0.78 per cent.
The dollar index, a gauge of six major global rivals, was down by 0.09 per cent on Friday.
Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity Group CEO said, "Today the rupee traded in a thin range and ended on a weak note at 62.36. The rupee movement got hurt by the dollar demand from importers and lower equities which forced the rupee to depreciate by almost six paise for the day."
The trading range for the Spot USD/INR pair is expected to be within 61.80 to 62.80, he added. In the forward market, premia declined marginally on mild receiving by exporters.
The benchmark six-month premium payable in September eased further to 214.5-216.5 paise from 216-218 paise on Thursday while forward contracts maturing in March 2016 moved down to 437-439 paise from 437-1/2-439-1/2 paise.
The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for dollar at 62.3460 and for the euro at 67.1342.
The rupee fell further against the pound sterling to 93.65 from 93.01 on Thursday and also moved down against the euro to 67.32 per euro from 66.84 previously.
It also fell against the Japanese yen to 52.52 per 100 yens from 52.36 previously.
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