Rupee cracks 68-mark; tanks 96 paise vs USD on Brexit jitters

Rupee crashed by 96 paise to breach the 68-level against the US dollar in the early trade today as leads show 'Leave' camp ahead in the UK referendum vote.

Heavy demand for the American currency from importers and banks and foreign fund outflows weighed on the domestic currency, forex dealers said.

Besides, the dollar strengthening against some currencies overseas and a crash in domestic equity market, kept pressure on the rupee.

Yesterday, the rupee had ended higher by 23 paise at 67.25 on selling of dollars by banks and exporters in view of weakness of dollar in the overseas market amid sharp recovery in equities.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex cracked below the 27,000-mark by plunging 948.54 points or 3.51 per cent to 26,053.68 in early trade.