Rupee falls 10 paise to Rs 72.53 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee depreciated by 10 paise to 72.53 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday, following a heavy selloff in domestic equities and strong American currency in the overseas market.

Besides, foreign fund outflows and rising crude prices also weighed on the rupee, forex traders said.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened weak at 72.51 against the US dollar and lost some more ground to quote at 72.53, a fall of 10 paise over its last close.

In the previous session, the rupee had settled at 72.43 against the American currency.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 534.71 points lower at 49,516.73, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 160.95 points to 14,653.80 in early deals.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.09 per cent to 92.42.

The global oil benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.30 per cent to USD 60.97 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they sold shares worth Rs 108.24 crore, as per exchange data.