Rupee falls by 16 paise against dollar

At the Interbank Forex Exchange, the rupee resumed lower at 44.97/98 per dollar as against the previous closing level of 44.84/85 and moved down further to 45.00 at 1030 hrs.

The rupee moved in a range between Rs 44.88 and Rs 45.00 per dollar in morning deals.

Forex dealers said the dollar`s strength against major currencies overseas and a weak start in the stock market put pressure on the rupee.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex dropped by 133.61 points to 18,475.20 at 1015 hours.

The greenback gained against the euro yesterday and the Japanese yen and Swiss Franc advanced versus both currencies after a pair of US economic reports showed more weakness in the jobs market and manufacturing than economists expected, raising worries about the strength of the country`s recovery.