Rupee depreciates 9 paise to 67.44 against US dollar

NEW DELHI: The rupee depreciated 9 paise to 67.44 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday.

The domestic currency had snapped a six-day winning spree on Tuesday, by falling 27 paise to settle at 67.35 amid fresh dollar demand from banks and importers.

"As the euphoria over the union budget moderates, both the rupee and the domestic bond market are likely to focus more on fundamentals as also global developments. Global capital markets will be closely watching European Central Bank's(ECB) monetary policy meeting on 10 March 2016 as the expectation of a further policy stimulus has already built-up," said India Ratings in a note.

"On the other hand, next week's US Fed meeting amid strong US labour market data and mixed commentaries on state of economy from important voting members is also a key determinant for global markets," the rating agency said.

Asian currencies were trading mixed. The Malaysian ringgit fell 0.67 per cent to 4.13 against the US dollar. The Korean won and the Singapore dollar fell 0.49 per cent and 0.17 per cent, respectively.

The Chinese yuan fell 0.16 per cent to 6.51 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the Taiwanese dollar, the Thai baht and the Japanese yen were trading higher by 0.57 per cent, 0.17 per cent and 0.11 per cent, respectively.

The dollar index, which tracks the movement of dollar against a basket of six major world currencies, rose 0.19 per cent to 97.39.

The rupee, with a 1.78 per cent fall, has been the second-worst performing Asian currency year-to-date.

India Ratings expects the domestic currency to trade between 66.95 and 67.65 in the short term.