Rupee drops 18 paise against dollar in late morning trade

The rupee dropped by 18 paise to 61.99 against the US dollar in late morning trade today on fresh demand for the American currency from banks and importers.
The rupee resumed lower at 61.95 per dollar as against the last closing level of 61.81 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and hovered in a range of 62.04-61.90 per dollar before quoting at 61.99 at 1045 hrs.
Banks and importers preferred to increase their dollar position in view of a firm American currency in the overseas market, a forex dealer said.
In New York market, the US dollar surged against the Canadian dollar yesterday after the Bank of Canada left interest rates on hold and stressed that inflation could be weaker than expected.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex inched up by 1.25 points to 21,338.92 at 1045 hrs.