Rupee declines 6 paise to 74.26 against US dollar in early trade

The Indian rupee slumped 6 paise to 74.26 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday as firm crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened lower at 74.24 against the dollar, then fell further to 74.26, registering a fall of 6 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee had settled at 74.20 against the US dollar.

"The apparent risk for the rupee this week is persistently higher crude oil prices. That, coupled with the market expectations for a slightly stronger dollar in the short run, will continue to weigh on the local unit," Reliance Securities said in a research note.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.22 per cent to USD 76.01 per barrel.

Asian currencies have started flat to marginally weaker against the greenback this morning and could cap appreciation bias, the note added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02 per cent up at 91.86.

On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 39.17 points or 0.07 per cent lower at 52,885.87, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 6.85 points or 0.04 per cent to 15,853.50.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 678.84 crore, as per exchange data.