The rupee dropped further by 19 paise to 60.35 against the U.S. currency in morning trade on Friday on persistent dollar buying by banks and importers, triggered by firm value of the greenback overseas.
The rupee resumed lower at 60.28 per dollar as against the last closing level of 60.16 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market.
It dropped further to 60.38 before quoting at 60.35 per dollar at a0 a.m.
The domestic unit hovered in a range of 60.26-60.38 per dollar during the morning trade.
Sustained demand for the U.S. currency from banks and importers in view of higher dollar in New York market mainly affected the rupee value, a forex dealer said.
However, good foreign capital inflows into equity market restricted further fall of the rupee, he added.
In New York market, the dollar rose against major rivals on Thursday as investors looked ahead to employment data due Friday, which could shed some light on the pace of the U.S. recovery.
Dollar’s gains were visible against the euro, which fell after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said bank officials had discussed quantitative easing at the last meeting.
Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark 30-share index Sensex dropped by 102.19 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 22,406.88 at 10 a.m.
