Rupee down 28 paise to 50.98 vs US dollar

The Indian rupee depreciated by another 28 paise to 50.98 against the US currency in opening trade today on fears of weak opening on the domestic bourses in line with weak trends on other Asian equity markets amid increased demand for the greenback from importers.

Dollar's gain against other Asian currencies also put pressure on the Indian rupee. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit was quoted lower at 50.98 a dollar, down by 28 paise over the previous close of 50.70/71.

Forex dealers said increased demand for the dollar from refiners and importers in view of approaching month end and hopes of subdued opening on the stock markets, mainly weighed on the rupee.

Yesterday, the rupee ended 25 paise lower at 50.70/71 against the USD after the stocks gave up most of the initial gains.

Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were down up to one per cent each in early trade today.