The Indian rupee weakened for a third straight session on Tuesday as investors dumped riskier assets on expectations of a sustained crisis in the eurozone, but some dollar selling by exporters pulled the local unit off the day's lows. The partially convertible rupee closed at 49.40/41 per dollar, half a percent weaker than the previous close of 49.15/16, after moving in a 49.20-49.50 band during the session.
The one-month onshore forward premium was at 20.50 points from 24.50 on Monday, while the one-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 49.62. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and the MCX-SX closed at 49.5850, while those on the United Stock Exchange ended at 49.5775. The total traded volume on the three exchanges was $5.1 billion.