Rupee down 16 paise against dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated by another 16 paise to 64.18 against the dollar in early session at the interbank foreign exchange on Friday due to concerns over widening fiscal deficit.

The Centre on Thursday introduced a long-term capital gains tax of 10 per cent on stock market gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh, resulting in volatility in forex market.

Forex dealers said that besides increased demand for the American currency from importers, a lower opening of the doemstic equity market also kept pressure on the rupee.

On Thursday, the rupee had plunged 44 paise to close at a near two-week low of 64.02 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex slumped by 302.66 points, or 0.84 per cent, at 35,604 in early trade on Friday.