Rupee falls 12 paise to 81.97 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee depreciated 12 paise to 81.97 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, 17 April weighed down by firm crude oil prices and a negative trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.90 against the dollar, then fell to 81.97, registering a decline of 12 paise over its last close.

The rupee last closed at 81.85 against the US currency on Thursday, 13 April. Domestic forex and equity markets were closed on Friday on account of Ambedkar Jayanti.

The dollar index, which compares the value of the dollar to other six currencies also, rose 0.15 per cent to 101.70. The index compares the dollar to the yen, the pound, the Canadian dollar, the Swedish krona, the Swiss franc, and the euro.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.08 per cent to USD 86.38 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market side, BSE Sensex was trading 721.78 points or 1.20 per cent lower at 59,704.11 points, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 1.06 per cent or 188.60 points at 17,640.40 points at 10.32 AM IST today.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday as they purchased shares worth Rs 221.85 crore, according to exchange data.
Traders said factors like global market sentiment, quarterly earnings, crude oil prices, movement in US DXY & other FX currencies and lastly RBI's action will dictate terms for the domestic currency.

Meanwhile, India's forex reserves increased by $6.306 billion to $584.755 billion for the week ended April 7, the RBI said on Friday.

With PTI inputs