Rupee breaches 67-mark against U.S. dollar

The rupee again breached the 67-mark by depreciating 18 paise to 67.06 against the dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange, mainly on strong demand for the American unit from importers and some banks amid a lower opening of the domestic equity market.

Dealers said besides dollar’s gain against some overseas currencies, sustained capital outflows weighed on the domestic unit.

The rupee had closed 17 paise lower against the U.S. dollar at 66.88 on Friday, the lowest level in more than two years in the face of strong demand for greenback.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex was trading below the 25,000-mark with a fall of 176.70 points or 0.70 per cent to 24,867.73 in early trade.