Rupee extends losses against US dollar in late morning trade

Mumbai: The rupee slid further by 22 paise to hit a low of 63.82 against the greenback in late morning deals on continued bouts of dollar demand from importers and banks amid flat equities.

The rupee opened lower at 63.65 per dollar from Wednesday’s closing level of 63.60 at the inter-bank foreign exchange market on Thursday.

The Indian unit witnessed volatility and fell further to 63.82 on heavy dollar demand. The domestic unit was trading at 63.75, down by 15 paise, against the dollar at 1050 hrs.

The US dollar was largely stable against its major rivals in early Asian trade after suffering its biggest one- day drop in nearly eight months following a report that China was ready to slow or halt its purchases of US Treasuries.

The 30-share BSE Sensex is trading flat, down by a marginal 15.93 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 34,417.14 at 1040 hrs.