Rupee falls 10 paise to 70.59 per US dollar in early trade

The rupee on Monday depreciated 10 paise to 70.59 per US dollar in early trade amid strengthening of the American currency and weak opening in domestic equities. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened weak at Rs 70.50 then fell further to 70.59 against the American currency, down 10 paise over its previous closing price. In a highly volatile trade, the local currency also touched a high of 70.44 per US dollar at 0926 hrs, showing a rise of 3 paise over its last close. The rupee on Friday had depreciated by 8 paise to close at 70.49 against the US dollar. Forex traders said the strength of the US dollar against other overseas currencies weighed on the domestic currency. On the other hand, easing crude prices supported the domestic unit.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, was trading lower at 59.90 per barrel, lower by 0.96 per cent. Meanwhile, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 687.20 crore from the capital markets on a net basis, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 123.17 crore on Friday, provisional data showed.

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The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading down 173.38 points, or  0.48 per cent to quote at 35,836.46 while the NSE Nifty was trading at 10,733.75, down 61.20 points, or 0.57  per cent.