Rupee falls 26 paise against dollar

Mumbai: The spot rupee ended Monday’s session at 73.74 to a US dollar after opening at 73.82, last seen in early September as jitters over China’s market direction placed the domestic and regional stock markets under pressure.

The dollar-rupee traded in a wide range between 73.8250 and 73.6150, triggered by worries over the Chinese property developer Evergrande’s debt crisis.

Weakness in stocks added to the upward pressure, but exporter selling and corporate flows pushed the pair back.

Monday’s close was 26 paise down compared to the rupee’s previous session on Friday where it had settled at 73.48 against the dollar. The Dollar Index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket on six currencies, was trading 0.27 per cent higher at 93.44.

Investors worldwide were cautious ahead of several central bank meetings, headlined by the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Apart from the Fed, the Bank of England, Bank of Japan and Swiss National Bank are also scheduled to meet this week. The Fed is widely expected to keep its interest rates unchanged.

However, hints of tapering by the end of this year may emerge from this meeting. Evergrande has to service $83.5 billion of interest payments on its $300 billion accumulated debt.