Mumbai: The rupee weakened by 12 paise to
63.61 against the US dollar in opening trade at the interbank
foreign exchange today after concerns over trade deficit
ballooning to a three-year high.
Trade deficit or difference between imports and exports
was USD 14.88 billion in December, up about 41 per cent year-
on-year, as crude oil and gold import bill inflated, the
commerce ministry data showed.
Dealers attributed the rupee's fall to dollar's strength
against some other currencies overseas but a higher opening in
the domestic equity market capped the fall.
Yesterday, the rupee had strengthened by 14 paise to
close at a fresh one-week high of 63.49 against the US
currency on sustained dollar selling by exporters amid record
rally in domestic equities.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 92.52 points
or 0.26 per cent to 34,936.03 in early trade.
PTI
