Rupee Falls 4 Paise To 90.95 Against US Dollar in Early Trade

The rupee fell 4 paise to 90.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, weighed down by FII outflows and a fall in the domestic equity markets in morning session.

However, a weaker greenback and a dip in global crude oil prices prevented sharper decline in the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.91 against the US dollar before slipping to 90.95, down 4 paise from its previous close.

The rupee settled on a flat note at 90.91 against the US dollar on Thursday.

"Despite FPIs selling dollars there was good dollar buying yesterday (Thursday) which took the rupee from 90.80 to 90.91. Unlike most Asian currencies the rupee has not been able to make the best of falls in the dollar index while gains see the rupee falling," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.09 per cent lower at 97.70.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was down 0.07 per cent to USD 70.70 per barrel in futures trade.

"The Brent oil remained below USD 71 levels as talks between the US and Iran progressed with some concessions from both sides, taking it forward though no concrete decision was arrived at," Bhansali said.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex dropped 364.62 points to 81,883.99 in early trade while Nifty declined 117.15 points to 25,379.40.

On Thursday, foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,465.99 crore, according to exchange data.