Rupee falls below 73 level against US dollar

The rupee weakened further and dipped by 54 paise to 73.04 against the US dollar Monday, owing to increased demand for the American currency from importers amid increasing global crude oil prices.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading higher by 2.04 per cent at USD 71.61 per barrel.

Forex traders said besides increased demand for the US currency from importers, the dollar's strength against some currencies overseas weighed on the domestic unit.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened lower at 72.74 and slipped further to quote at 73.04 against the dollar, down 54 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee rose by 50 paise to end at 72.50 per dollar on increased selling of the greenback by exporters amid softening crude oil prices, which slipped below the USD 70 per barrel mark.

Meanwhile, on net basis, foreign funds bought shares worth Rs 614.14 crore, while domestic investors sold shared to the tune of Rs 337.28 crore Friday, provisional data showed.

Traders said the decline in equity benchmarks also impacted the local unit. While the BSE Sensex was trading down 48.39 points or 0.14 per cent, the wide based Nifty was trading at 10,579.40, down 0.05 per cent.