Rupee declines 11 paise to 82.73 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, Dec 20 (PTI) The rupee weakened by 11 paise to 82.73 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as a sell-off in domestic equities and rising crude prices in global markets weighed on the local unit.

However, a weak greenback against major rivals overseas supported the domestic currency and restricted the fall, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the local currency opened weak at 82.69 against the dollar, then lost ground further to 82.73, registering a decline of 11 paise over its previous close.

The rupee settled 13 paise higher at 82.62 against the dollar in the previous session on Monday.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 303.59 points or 0.49 per cent lower at 61,502.60, and the broader NSE Nifty slipped 95.85 points or 0.52 per cent to 18,324.60.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.37 per cent to 104.33.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.89 per cent to USD 80.51 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 538.10 crore, as per exchange data.