Rupee down by 21 paise in late morning trade

The Indian rupee dropped further by 21 paise to a one-month low of Rs 45.20 against the US dollar in late morning trade on good demand for the American currency from banks in view of the higher dollar in overseas markets and firm equities.
The rupee resumed lower at 45.06/07 per dollar as against last weekend's close of 44.99/45.00 per dollar and moved down further to 45.20 per dollar before quoting at 45.10/11 per dollar at 1030 hours.

The domestic currency moved in a range between 45.05 and 45.20 per dollar in morning deals.

Persistent dollar demand from banks and importers in view of the firm dollar in overseas markets mainly affected the rupee value against the dollar, a foerx dealer said.

In the Tokyo market, the euro struggled near a record low against the Swiss franc in early trade and fell versus the dollar, staying under pressure ahead of this week's decision by the Greek Parliament on whether to back austerity reforms demanded by international lenders.

Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark Sensex shot up by 153 points, or 0.84%, in early trade today.