Indian rupee drops past 51/dollar on global econ worry

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee fell past 51 per dollar on Friday for the first time in nearly 32 months as worries Europe's debt crisis may spill over into the global economy boosted dollar demand.

The rupee has slumped 14.2 percent from its highest point in 2011 hit late July and is the worst performer among major Asian currencies this year.

At 9:09 a.m. (0339 GMT), the partially convertible rupee was at 51.04/05 after hitting 51.12, its weakest since March 30, 2009. It had ended down 0.3 percent on Thursday at 50.905/915.