Mumbai: Snapping its eight-day long winning streak against the American currency, the rupee dropped by 21 paise to 66.40 on month-end dollar demand from importers and some banks.
Month-end dollar demand from oil refiners mainly affected the rupee value against the dollar, a forex dealer said. The rupee resumed lower at 66.25 per dollar as against the yesterday's closing level of 66.19 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market today and dropped further to 66.42 per dollar before finishing at 66.40, showing a loss of 21 paise or 0.32 per cent.
The rupee had gained by 90 paise or 1.34 per cent in previous eight trading days.
The rupee hovered in a range of 66.25 and 66.42 per dollar during the day. The dollar index was up by 0.06 per cent against the basket of six currencies in the late afternoon trade.
Overseas, the US dollar trading was somewhat mixed against its major rivals in early trade as commodity currencies struggled against the greenback weighed by crude oil prices resuming their slide.
The dollar edged lower in the late overseas trade but rebounded from a one-week low against most of its major rivals, as the Australia and UK markets remained closed in observance of the Boxing Day holiday.
Oil prices fell in Asia today, giving up some of last week's sharp gains as concerns of a global supply glut weighed on prices ahead of fresh US stocks data.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in February was down 27 cents at USD 37.83 and Brent crude for February was trading 17 cents lower at US dollar 37.72 a barrel.
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