Rupee crashes further, hits 72.67 per dollar (Second Lead)

Mumbai : Continuing its free fall, the Indian rupee touched a new low of 72.67 on Monday, depreciating by almost a rupee from its previous close of 71.73 per US dollar.

Around 12.30 p.m., it traded at its lowest-ever level of 72.67, after opening at 72.18 per greenback.

Along with the decline in global currencies against the dollar and persistent trade tensions, a wider current account deficit of India also weighed on the rupee, analysts said.

India's current account deficit in the April-June period stood at 2.4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), against 1.9 per cent of the GDP in the January-March quarter of 2017-18, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday.