Rupee cracks 67-mark vs USD in late morning deals

The rupee dropped 20 paise to hit 15-month lows of 67.07 against the American currency in late morning deals today on sustained dollar demand from importers and banks amid sharp rise in the greenback overseas.

The rupee opened higher at 66.82 as against last Friday's closing level of 66.87 per dollar at the inter-bank foreign exchange here.

The domestic unit witnessed sudden bouts of volatility as it spiralled down to a low of 67.08 before quoting at 67.07 at 1025 hrs. The rupee last quoted at 67.01 on February 17, 2017.

The Indian unit hovered between 66.78 and 67.08 during morning deals.

Continued selling by foreign investors in local equity and bond markets affected sentiment at the forex market here, a dealer said.

Meanwhile, the US dollar stayed near its 2018 peak at four-month highs against a basket of currencies in early Asian trade, a day after US jobs and wages data did little to temper perceptions of strength in the American economy.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading higher by 112.05 points or 0.32 per cent at 35,027.43 at 1100 hrs.