The rupee dropped by 25 paise to 62.18 against the dollar in the late morning trade on persistent dollar demand for the American currency from banks and importers.
The local currency resumed lower at 62.20 per dollar as against the last closing level of 61.93 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and hovered in a restricted range of 62.29 per dollar and 62.14 per dollar before quoting at 62.18 per dollar at 1040 hrs.
Banks and importers preferred to increase their dollar positions in view of the firmness of the American currency in overseas market, a forex dealer said.
In New York, the dollar gained ground versus major rivals yesterday after the minutes of the September Federal Reserve meeting showed most members of the central bank's policy panel still hoped to begin scaling back the flow of monetary stimulus later this year.
Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex declined by 19.44 points or 0.10 per cent to 20,229.82 at 1050 hrs.
