Rupee slips 15 paise to 74.55 against US dollar in early trade

The Indian rupee depreciated by 15 paise to 74.55 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, as a muted trend in domestic equities and a firm American currency weighed on investor sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a weak note at 74.55, registering a decline of 15 paise from the last close.

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On Wednesday, the rupee had closed at 74.40 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.14 per cent to 96.74.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 0.09 per cent to USD 82.32 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 5,122.65 crore, as per exchange data.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 15.74 points or 0.03 per cent lower at 58,325.25, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 30.10 points or 0.17 per cent to 17,384.95.

The Indian rupee started on a weaker note this early Thursday morning trade tracking the strength of the dollar, Reliance Securities said in a research note.

The dollar rose in the previous session lifted by hawkish Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes and upbeat data in the US.

"Asian currencies and equities were trading mostly weaker this early Thursday morning and will weigh on sentiments," the note added.