The rupee depreciated by 26 paise to 81.68 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday on higher crude oil prices and foreign exchange outflows.
Early gains in domestic equity markets and a weaker dollar against global currencies limited the rupee’s losses.
The local unit opened lower at 81.48 a dollar compared to the last close of 81.42. It moved in a range of 81.48 to 81.68 in morning deals.
In interbank forex, the rupee was trading at 81.68 to the dollar at 0925 hrs.
Forex traders said foreign currency outflows from the capital market were weighing on the local unit. Crude oil prices are also weighing on rupee sentiment, they added.
International oil price benchmark Brent crude rose 0.02 percent to US$88.21 a barrel in Asian trade on expectations of a revival in demand from China.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against six world currencies, was down 0.17 percent at 101.96.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 219.87 crore in the capital market on Monday, exchange data showed.
Foreign investors have withdrawn a net amount of Rs 15,236 crore so far this month due to attractive Chinese markets and concerns that the US economy could enter recession.
(Only the headlines and images in this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content was automatically generated from the syndicated feed.)
