Rupee down 34 paise in late morning trade

The rupee dropped by 34 paise to 54.41 in late morning trade on Thursday due to renewed dollar demand from banks and importers as the US currency strengthened in the overseas market. The rupee resumed lower at 54.37 per dollar as against the last closing level of 54.07 per dollar a the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and dropped further to 54.43 per dollar before quoting at 54.41 per dollar at 10.40am. Fresh dollar demand from banks and importers on the back of higher dollar in the overseas market affected the rupee value, a forex dealer said.