Rupee holds 2-1/2 mth low at 67.49, down 5 paise

A massive outflows of foreign funds on the back of stricter participatory notes and renewed possibility of Fed lifting US interest rates largely impacted the domestic unit

Extending its fall for the eighth straight session, the rupee on Monday depreciated by another 5 paise to end at 67.49 per dollar on sustained demand for the US currency from banks and importers.

A massive outflows of foreign funds on the back of stricter participatory notes (P-Notes) and renewed possibility of the Federal Reserve lifting US interest rates as early as June along with sluggish domestic equities largely impacted the domestic unit.

Importers rushing to hedge their offshore liabilities in the wake of sharp swings in the currency market after rupee breached the psychological 67-mark further added to pressure.

The domestic unit resumed higher at 67.30 per dollar compared to weekend's closing value of 67.44 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market and added strength to touch a fresh intra-day high of 67.25 following fresh dollar selling by exporters and banks amid a firm opening of domestic equities.

But, it turned highly volatile in mid-afternoon trade due to renewed dollar demand from state-run banks and importers to hit a low of 67.50, before concluding at 67.49, revealing a loss of 5 paise, or 0.07 per cent.

The rupee had last ended at 67.54 per dollar on March 2, 2016.

Meanwhile, the RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 67.3492 and euro at 75.6197.

In cross-currency trades, the rupee firmed up further against the pound sterling to end at 97.71 from 98.19 last Friday.

However, the local unit remained weak against the euro to settle at 75.66 against 75.65 and fell back against the yen to finish at 61.69 per 100 yens compared to 61.09 previously.

On the global front, the dollar largely consolidated after climbing to three-week highs last week on growing expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as soon as next month on the back of better US macro economic conditions.

The dollar index, which tracks the world's reserve currency against a basket of its peers, is down 0.02 per cent at 95.27.

In forward market, premium for dollar continued to fall on sustained receivings from exporters.

The benchmark six-month premium for October declined to 180-182 paise from 183-185 paise and far forward April 2017 contract also moved down to 378-380 paise compared to 384-386 paise earlier.

Indian markets remained under immense selling pressure for the fourth straight session with the flagship index Sensex dropping 71.54 points to end at 25,230.36, while broader Nifty lost 18.65 points to settle at 7,731.05.