Rupee falls by 36 paise to 2-year low, ends at 66.82

The rupee fell by 36 paise to close at a two-year low of 66.82 against the American currency on Monday on persistent dollar demand from banks and importers due to sustained foreign capital outflows amid sharp fall in equity markets.

The domestic currency opened lower at 66.60 as against last weekend's level of 66.46 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.

It dipped further to 66.86 before concluding at 2-year low at 66.82, showing a loss of 36 paise, or 0.54 per cent.

It had last ended at 67.07 on September 4, 2013. The rupee has dropped 63 paise, or 0.95 per cent, in three trading days. Forex dealers said volatile domestic equities coupled with higher dollar overseas impacted the rupee sentiment.

The dollar index was down by 0.02 per cent against a basket of six major currencies. The USD-INR currency pair will continue to get influenced by global forex and domestic equity moves, a dealer said, adding that exporters are expected to hedge their US dollar receivables on upticks towards 66.86.

Oil prices eased in Asian trade as dealers await the US Federal Reserve's decision on whether to raise interest rates, following a mixed August jobs report, analysts said. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex ended lower by 308.09 points, or 1.22 per cent, to close below the 25,000-level- for the first time in 15 months-at 24,893.81.

Veracity Group CEO Pramit Brahmbhatt said, "The rupee depreciated on cues from weakness in local equities as investors continued to stay away from the uncertain market. The trading range for the Spot USD/INR pair is expected to be within 66.40 to 67.40," he added.