Rupee falls 38 paise; touches 71 level against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee deprecated by 38 paise and fell to 71 per dollar mark in early trade on Tuesday amid strengthening of the American currency and weak opening in domestic equities.

Forex traders said the strength of the US dollar against other overseas currencies and unabated foreign fund outflows weighed on the local unit. Besides, concerns about US-China trade negotiations also kept investors edgy.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened weak at Rs 71.15 then fell further to 71.16 against the American currency, down 38 paise over it's previous closing price. The Indian rupee on Friday had closed at 70.78 against the US dollar.

Forex market were closed on Monday on account of Bakri Id. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets, putting in Rs 203.73 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.23 per cent to 97.60. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.12 per cent to trade at USD 58.50 per barrel.

Domestic bourses opened on a negative note on Tuesday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 152.26 points lower at 37,429.65 and Nifty down 41.15 points at 11,068.50. The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.54 per cent in morning trade.