Forex: Spooked by Brexit impact, the rupee plunged as much 88 paise

Spooked by Brexit impact, the rupee plunged as much as 88 paise to settle at a 4-month low of 67.96 against the dollar on persistent dollar demand from banks and importers on the back of higher dollar in the global markets amid a sharp fall in equities.

The rupee opened sharply lower at 67.65 per dollar as against the last weekend's level of 67.08 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market and went down further to 68.22 per dollar on heavy dollar demand from bankers and importers before ending at 4-month low at 67.96 per dollar, still showing a loss of 88 paise or 1.31 per cent.

The rupee has dropped by 120 paise or 1.80 per cent in two weeks. The rupee recovered slightly at end of the week after initial losses following intervention of the Reserve Bank (RBI) coupled with rebound in equities.

The rupee had last ended at 68.42 on February 29, 2016. The domestic currency hovered in a range of 67.23 and 68.22 during the week.

The British pound pushed to its lowest since 1985 against the dollar in the global market on Friday. After briefly plunging to its weakest level in more than 30 years, the pound trimmed its earlier losses to finish at a more-than six year low against the dollar.

In a historic decision, the UK voted to leave the European Union in a long-awaited referendum, plunging global markets in chaos.