MUMBAI: The Indian rupee on Monday lost a hefty 25 paisa to close at 48.73/74 against the US currency amid weakness in equity markets and strong dollar overseas.
Dealers in foreign exchange attributed the fall in the rupee to decline in local equity markets where the benchmark Sensex cut its six-session long gaining string with a fall of 50.11 points.
Dollar was strong against its major rivals in overseas markets as investors turned their attention to dollar rather than investing in already stretched stocks and precious metals.
The rupee also came under pressure in anticipation of dollar demand from oil refiners after global crude oil prices tumbled by more than a dollar towards $68 a barrel in Asian trade.
In lacklustre trading at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit resumed lower at 48.62/63 a dollar from its last weekend's close of 48.48/49 per dollar.
Later it continued to rule weak in line with the stock markets and touched a low of 48.80 before concluding the day at 48.73/74 per dollar.
Source : TOI