Tuesday, June 13 2006 11:37 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: The rupee today (June 13,2006) saw a sharp erosion in its value versus the US currency as the dollar appreciated remarkably against major currencies in the overseas market.

The weakness in the rupee was also attributed partly to continued slide in equity markets. The stock markets plungedby another 396 points during early trade.

In dull trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market here, the Indian unit opened lower at Rs 45.9550/9650 per dollar from overnight close of 45.9125/9225 a dollar and later fell further to Rs 45.98/99 per dollar in late morning deals.

Underlining the dollar's firmness in overseas market as the key factor that exerted pressure on the rupee, a leading forex dealer said the activity was lacklustre with little dollar buying or selling.

"If the dollar inflows and demand matched, the rupee is expected to remain at overnight closing levels," he added.