Rupee falls to 67.20 a dollar in morning trade

Fall mirrors decline in other Asian currencies; exporters may have stepped in to sell dollars

The Indian rupee crossed 67 level in the morning trade, mirroring other Asian currencies even as some exporters may have stepped in to sell dollars in the market, say currency dealers. 

Weakness in the local equities market also weighed on the sentiment.

The local currency opened at 66.96 a dollar, but fell to 67.20 a dollar level in the intraday. At 11.05 AM, the currency was trading at 67.12, as exporters started selling dollars to book profits on high exchange rate. The present level is close to 28-month low for the rupee, but Bank of America-Merril Lynch continues to expect that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would want to anchor rupee at 65 a dollar level.

Asian currencies were trading lower against the dollar, led by South Korean won. 

The benchmark equity index of BSE, Sensex, was down 0.67%, or 166 points to 24,688.12 points.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against major global currencies, was down 0.05% to 98.888.

Rupee’s loss is expected as against its trading partners, rupee is overvalued. From 2013 to now, rupee has strengthened about 15% relative to its trading partners. 

According to Aditi Nayar, rating agency ICRA’s senior economist, the rupee’s strength against its partners is quite substantial and more weakness in the exchange rate could be expected in the coming days.