Rupee slips 23 paise to 71.66 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee opened on a weak note and fell 23 paise to 71.66 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday amid rising crude oil prices and unabated foreign fund outflows. On Monday, the rupee had tumbled 29 paise to close at an over six-month low of 71.43 against the US dollar amid growing worries over economic slump.

Forex traders said investors are awaiting government intervention to revive the slowing economy. There are expectations that the government would come out with sector-specific stimulus sometime soon.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened weak at 71.56 then fell to 71.66 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 23 paise over its previous closing.

Traders said cautious opening in domestic equities, rising crude oil prices and foreign fund outflows weighed on the local unit.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 305.74 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.05 per cent to USD 59.77 per barrel.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note on Tuesday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 46.13 points higher at 37,448.62 and Nifty up by 12.55 points at 11,066.45.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.03 per cent to 98.31.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.61 per cent in morning trade.

Traders said this week the focus will be on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and European Central Bank (ECB) minutes, the annual Jackson Hole Symposium of central bankers and Fed chair Powell’s speech, among others.