Rupee breaks below 67 against dollar

Mumbai: The rupee plummeted 23 paise against the US dollar to 67.20 in early trade on May 19, its weakest level since March, due to appreciation of the American currency overseas amid foreign fund outflows. Yesterday, the rupee had lost 10 paise to close at 66.97 per dollar.

The US dollar jumped in overseas market yesterday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's end-April meeting showed the central bank far more bullish about a possible June rate hike than the markets had understood.

Forex dealers said sustained demand for the greenback from importers and banks as well as lower opening of the domestic equity markets also put pressure on the rupee. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex was down 132.64 points or 0.51 per cent at 25,571.97 in early trade.