Rupee Loses 81 Paise Against US Dollar In Early Trade

The rupee fell 81 paise against the US dollar to 72.65 on Monday. The currency depreciated amid reports that the US could announce a new round of tariffs on Chinese imports later in the day, and despite announcement of measures to curb the rupee fall by the Indian government last weekend. The dollar rose against a basket of major currencies overseas, with investors cautiously awaiting news on the implementation of US tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports, forex dealers were quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India (PTI). 

On Friday, the rupee closed at a one-week high of 71.84 against the US dollar. So far this year, the currency has depreciated around 13 per cent against the greenback.

In a key economic review meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi over the weekend, the government announced several steps to control the fall in the rupee amid high crude oil prices.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government will take steps to cut down "non-necessary" imports, ease overseas borrowing norms for the manufacturing sector and relax rules around banks raising masala bonds, or rupee-denominated overseas bonds. He also expressed confidence that the country will meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Meanwhile, forex reserves declined by $819.5 million to $399.282 billion for the week ended September 7, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Friday. The forex reserves slipped below the $400 billion mark for the first time in over a year. (With inputs from agencies)