Image for representation purpose only. , Photo Credit: V. Sudarshan
The rupee depreciated 10 paise to 81.69 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, brought down by significant foreign fund outflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 81.69 against the dollar, registering a decline of 10 paise over its previous close.
The rupee had closed at 81.59 against the American currency in the previous session on Friday.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.01% to 101.92.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.17% to $86.51 a barrel.
Traders said focus on the Union Budget and the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision would decide the direction for the local unit on Monday.
“Asian and emerging market peers started with gains and may support investor sentiments,” said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities. However, demand from importers and RBI presence may limit the gains. Might.”
On the domestic macroeconomic front, India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.727 billion to $573.727 billion in the week ended January 20, the RBI said on Friday. This is the second week in a row in the kitty.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 30.72 points or 0.05% higher at 59,361.62. The broader NSE Nifty rose 17.55 points, or 0.1%, to 17,621.90.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) on Friday turned net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth ₹5,977.86 crore, according to exchange data, amid a fall in Indian equities. The sell-off led by the Adani Group on Friday.