Rupee extends losses to 67.94, down 29p

According to a forex dealer, a fresh fall in equity market affected the market sentiment

Extending losses for the second straight day, the rupee on Monday dropped by another 29 paise to close at 67.94 a dollar on persistent demand for the US currency from banks and importers on the back of higher greenbacks abroad.

A fresh fall in the equity market also affected the market sentiment, a foreign exchange dealer said.

The domestic unit resumed lower at 67.85 a dollar against last weekend's level of 67.65 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market and dropped farther to 67.96 before concluding at 67.94, disclosing a loss of 29 paise.

The rupee dropped by 38 paise in two days.

The dollar index was up by 0.12% against a basket of six currencies in the late afternoon trade.

In the Asian market, the dollar gained against the yen during in late afternoon trade, lifted by dip buying and an improvement in risk sentiment on the recovery by Tokyo stocks.

In New York, the dollar strengthened against the yen and the euro on last Friday after the Labor Department's report on job gains in January, bets the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity Financial Services said, "Despite positive cues from domestic equity market in the early trade, rupee opened on a negative note near 67.8 levels and continued to trade with negative bias. Fall in Nifty extended the loss in rupee below 67.8 levels. Our benchmark index Nifty closed with a loss of 102 points.

The rupee closed with a loss of 30 paisa at 67.94 levels. The trading range for spot USD/INR pair is expected to be within 67.5 to 68.2 levels.