The Indian rupee closed weaker but off its intraday low on Thursday as domestic equities turned positive after early losses and on signs that the European Central Bank's massive loans to banks will avert a eurozone credit crunch for now. The rupee ended at 52.72/73 to the dollar, down from Wednesday's close of 52.49/50. It hit a low of 52.90.
One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 53.19, indicating more short-term weakness in the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most-traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange, the MCX-SX and the United Stock Exchange closed around 52.77, with total volume at $3.76 billion.