Rupee slips 18 paise to 71.51 in early trade on weak opening in domestic equities; easing oil prices support local unit

Mumbai: The rupee opened on a weak note and declined by 18 paise to 71.51 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday, tracking weak opening in domestic equities and strengthening of the American currency overseas.

#Rupee opens sharply lower Vs Friday's close pic.twitter.com/7pydazYDqs

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Forex traders said weak opening in domestic equities dragged the local unit, while easing crude prices and foreign fund inflows supported the rupee and restricted the downfall. [caption id=“attachment_5114261” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The rupee opened weak at 71.51 at the interbank forex market, down 18 paise over its previous close. The domestic currency, however, gained some lost ground and was quoted at 71.44 against US dollar at 10 am. The rupee had settled at 71.33 against the US dollar on Friday. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 2.14 percent to $59.39 per barrel, amid expected demand slump over rising Coronavirus cases in China. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, putting in Rs 659.11 crore on Friday, as per provisional data. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.02 percent to 97.87. The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.56 percent in morning trade. Domestic bourses opened on a negative note on Monday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 181.59 points down at 41,431.60 and Nifty down 63.55 points at 12,184.70.