Rupee breaches 68-mark, sheds 24 paise on capital outflows and firming dollar

Mumbai: The rupee again broke below the 68-mark by depreciating 24 paise to trade at 68.20 against the dollar in early trade on Monday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange, due to increased demand for the American unit from importers and banks.

Moreover, sustained capital outflows and dollar’s strength against some other currencies overseas also weighed on the local unit but a higher opening in the domestic equity market limited the rupee’s fall, forex dealers said.

The rupee had closed steady at 67.96 against the US dollar on Friday amid renewed selling in the domestic equity against the backdrop of sustained capital outflows. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex recovered by 23.86points, or 0.09 per cent, to 26,783.09 in early trade.

PTI