Rupee drops 21 paise at 54.47/dollar

The rupee dropped by 21 paise to trade at 54.47 against the dollar today on fresh demand for the US currency from banks and exporters.

The rupee resumed slightly lower at 54.27 per dollar as against the last weekend's level of 54.26 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and dropped further to 54.48 before quoting 54.47 at 1040 hrs.

It hovered in a range of 54.24 and 54.48 per dollar during the morning deals.

Renewed dollar demand from banks and exporters in view it being stronger in the overseas market mainly affected the rupee value, a dealer said.

Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark BSE-30 index, Sensex, dropped by 40 points or 0.21% to 19,299.56 at 1050 hrs.