Rupee extends losses, down 14 paise in late morning deals

The rupee extended its initial losses and was quoting lower by 14 paise to Rs 66.85 against the US currency in late morning deals on sustained bouts of dollar demand by importers and banks amid lower local equities.

The domestic currency opened lower by 66.80 as against yesterday's closing level of 66.71 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.

It hovered in a range of 66.86 and 66.78 before quoting at 66.85 at 1030 hrs.

Meanwhile, the dollar Index was trading down by 0.11 per cent at 97.63 against a basket of six currencies in the early trade.

In overseas market, the US dollar slumped against its major rivals in early Asian trade as the US presidential election increasingly looked too close to call, jangling investors' nerves and fuelling demand for perceived havens such as the Japanese yen.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex was trading down by 279.36 points, or 1 percent, to 27,597.25, at 1045 hrs.