Dollar buying by banks see Re drop to 43.43/$

Arresting the three-day strong rally, the rupee today slipped to 43.40/43 per dollar in late morning trades on fairly good buying by banks - suspected to be on behalf of the central bank.

The rupee had climbed to its highest level in more than eight years yesterday following a strong 69 paise surge in the last three sessions due to heavy dollar sales by banks that are facing acute liquidity crunch.

The Reserve Bank of India, which was suspected to have intervened after the rupee neared the 43 per dollar level yesterday, seemed to be active to check the rupee's sharp rise against the dollar, a forex dealer said.

Oil companies, too, were believed to be making month-end dollar purchases as the global crude oil soared to around $64 per barrel.