Rupee slips 21 paise to 69.64 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee opened on a weak note and declined by 21 paise to 69.64 against the US dollar on Wednesday, as the US-China trade related concerns weighed on investor community. Forex traders said, besides the US-China trade concerns, foreign fund outflows, heavy selling in domestic equities and rising crude oil prices also kept pressure on the Indian rupee.

The rupee opened weak at 69.57 at the interbank forex market and then fell further to 69.64, down 21 paise over its last close.

The rupee had settled at 69.43 against the US dollar Tuesday.

Meanwhile China is reportedly sending a high-ranking delegation, led by Vice Premier Liu He, to Washington to resume trade negotiations with the United States.

Reports of He’s visit come after two days of uncertainty on the fate of US-China trade negotiations as President Donald Trump and his top officials accused China of going back on its commitments.

Trump had also announced to increase import tariff on USD 200-billion worth of Chinese products from 10 per cent to 25 per cent from May 10.

Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.43 per cent to USD 70.18 per barrel.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out Rs 645.08 crore on a net basis Tuesday, provisional data showed.

Domestic bourses opened on a negative note Wednesday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 236.32 points down at 38,040.31 and Nifty down 68.05 points at 11,429.85.