Rupee down 20 paise vs dollar in late morning deals

The rupee dropped by 20 paise to 61.51 against the dollar in late morning trade today on month-end demand for the US currency from importers amid steady greenback in overseas market.
However, sustained foreign capital inflows into equity market restricted the rupee fall, a forex dealer said.
The domestic currency resumed lower at 61.40 as against the last closing level of 61.31 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market.
It moved down further to 61.58 before quoting at 61.51 per dollar at 1040 hours.
It hovered in a range of 61.40 and 61.58 per dollar in the late morning deals.

Month-end dollar demand from oil refiners mainly affected the rupee value against the US currency.
In the global market, the major currency pairs were moving sideways ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's latest policy statement, due later in the day.
Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark BSE-30 share index Sensex rose by 66.47 points or 0.32 per cent to 20,992.78 at 1118 hours.