Rupee slips 6 paise to 68.95 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee opened on a weak note and fell 6 paise to 68.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday amid foreign fund outflows and cautious opening in domestic equities. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened weak at 68.92 then fell to 68.95 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 6 paise over its previous closing.

The Indian rupee on Friday had closed at 68.89 against the US dollar.

Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as market participants are awaiting cues from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on July 31.

Besides, market participants are also looking forward to the US and China trade talks, which can impact rupee movement.

The US and Chinese officials are restarting negotiations in Shanghai on Tuesday in an effort to resolve the year-long trade dispute.

Traders said cautious opening in domestic equities and foreign fund inflows weighed on the local unit, while weakening of the greenback vis-a-vis other currencies overseas and easing crude oil prices added support to the local unit.

Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.33 per cent to USD 63.25 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 1,503.26 crore on Friday, as per provisional data.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note on Monday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 71.38 points down at 37,811.41 and Nifty lower by 29.55 points at 11,254.75.