Rupee Again Inches Closer To 74-Mark, Down 14 Paise Against Dollar

The rupee lost 14 paise to trade at 73.90 against the US dollar in early trade Monday, reported news agency Press Trust of India (PTI). On Friday, the rupee breached the 74 mark for the first time ever, before registering a fresh all-time closing low of 73.76 against the dollar. The dollar's strength against major global currencies weighed on the rupee sentiment, forex dealers were quoted as saying in the PTI report.

Besides, foreign fund outflows also seemed to have the rupee. Foreign investors have pulled out over Rs 9,300 crore ($1.3 billion) from the domestic capital markets in the last four trading sessions.

The dollar strengthened after China's central bank eased its domestic policy to support the economy. On Sunday, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced a 100-basis-point cut to banks' reserve requirement ratio, stepping up efforts to support the economy and calm market worries.

Meanwhile, the domestic stock markets traded in the red. At 9:52 am, the Sensex traded at 34,242.56, down 134.43 points or 0.39 per cent and the Nifty50 was at 10,268.80, with a loss of 47.65  points or 0.46 per cent.