Mumbai: The rupee pared its initial gains to depreciate by 6 paise to 67.21 against the American currency in late morning deals following fresh bouts of dollar demand from importers and banks amid lower domestic equities.
The rupee opened higher by 67.12 against yesterday's closing level of 67.15 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market here today. Later, it hovered between 67.12 and Rs 67.23 during morning deals, before quoting at 67.21 at 1030 hrs.
Meanwhile, the dollar index was down 0.30 per cent at 94.31 against the basket of six global currencies. Overseas, the US dollar was on defencive against its major rivals in early Asian trade, while sliding to a 21-month low against the yen after the Bank of Japan held off from expanding its monetary stimulus.
The greenback was already under pressure after the US Federal Reserve lowered its economic growth forecasts and scaled back its rate hike projections. Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex was trading lower by 326.58 points, or 1.22 per cent, to 26,399.76 at 1050 hrs.
