Rupee declines most in nearly a month

Ends at Rs 60.69 compared with previous close of Rs 60.53 per dollar

Rupee declined the most in nearly a month after the central bank reported the widest current-account deficit in a year.

The rupee ended at Rs 60.69 compared with previous close of Rs 60.53 per dollar. The rupee had opened at Rs 60.59 per dollar.

"The fall in rupee would have been more but due to dollar flows in equities, the rupee's weakness was limited," said a currency dealer with a private bank.

The April-June shortfall in the broadest measure of trade was $7.8 billion, up from $1.2 billion the previous quarter, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement yesterday. That's still lower than the $21.8 billion gap a year earlier.

"The higher current-account deficit is causing some nervousness among importers and contributed to the rupee's decline," said Ankur Jhaveri, co-head of currency and rates at Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd. in Mumbai. "The rupee is also following the weakness in Asian currencies on the back of a stronger dollar."

The rupee lost 0.3 per cent to close at Rs 60.69 which is the biggest drop since August 6. On August 6 the rupee had ended at Rs 61.51 recording a fall of over 1 per cent compared with previous close.