The Indian rupee depreciated by 36 paise to 44.97 a dollar in early trade today, its lowest since March 31, on capital outflows by foreign funds from equities and the dollar's gain overseas.
The rupee closed lower by 10 paise at 44.61/62 a dollar in the previous session.
Forex dealers said continued capital outflows by foreign funds from stock market and dollar's strength against other major currencies, mainly weighed on the rupee sentiment.
Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange index, Sensex, dipped below 17,000-points level for the first time since March 5, losing 268.31 points, or 1.56 per cent at 16,868.83 points in the morning trade today.
