Rupee trades flat against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, Dec 26 (PTI) The rupee on Monday started the session on a flat note against the US dollar amid rising crude oil prices and persistent foreign capital outflows.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 82.79 against the dollar and lost ground to later trade at 82.83, registering a fall of 1 paisa over the last close. In the previous session on Friday, the rupee dipped 3 paise to close at 82.82 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.11 per cent lower at 104.31.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 434.69 points or 0.73 per cent higher at 60,279.98, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 128 points or 0.72 per cent to 17,934.80.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 3.63 per cent to USD 83.92 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 706.84 crore, as per stock exchange data.

Experts said the USD/INR pair is expected to remain in a period of consolidation, as the global market tries to adjust to the constant re-evaluation of the dollar.

Further, increasing concern over reemergence of COVID-19 is likely to make any investment decision challenging in the near term.