Rupee free fall continues, ends down 13 paise to 67.27

Continuing its weakening trend for the fourth straight session, the rupee today fell by another 13 paise to end at 67.27 per dollar on persistent demand for the American currency from banks and importers on the back of higher greenback in the overseas market. Weakness in the domestic stock markets also affected the rupee value against the dollar, a forex dealer said.

The rupee opened lower at 67.18 against yesterday’s closing level of 67.14 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market and hovered in a range of 67.09 and 67.30 before quoting at 67.27, showing a loss of 13 paise or 0.19 per cent.

The domestic currency has dropped by 62 paise or 0.93 per cent in four trading days. The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 67.1520 and euro at 75.7542.

In cross-currency trades, the rupee firmed up further against the pound sterling to close at 95.22 from 95.24 yesterday and also moved up against the euro to 75.50 from 75.67 per euro previously.

However, the domestic currency dropped further against the Japanese yen to 63.49 per 100 yens from 63.33. Meanwhile, the dollar index was up by 0.37 per cent against the basket of six global currencies in the late Asian trade.

Overseas, the US dollar gained against its major rivals in early Asian trade, while the British pound remained fragile near a two-month low against the dollar and the yen hovered near six-week highs against the US currency on worries Britain may leave the European Union in a referendum. However, the yen gained moderately against the dollar and other currency peers in late Asian trade.