Rupee falls 19 paise to 74.09 against US dollar in early trade on Friday

The rupee declined by 19 paise to 74.09 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday, as muted domestic equities and elevated crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.

Forex traders said the local unit fell following more hawkish comments by Federal Reserve officials.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 74.05 against the US dollar, then fell further to 74.09 against the greenback in early deals, registering a decline of 19 paise from the last close.

On Thursday, the rupee rose 3 paise to close at 73.90 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell by 0.11 per cent to 94.68.

"Equities are slightly down on Friday but will get bought on dips. European currencies are generally up against the dollar, but the dollar index should find support near to 94.50 for a rally back to 97.00 as most US FED officials are favouring a rate hike in March itself," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell by 0.08 per cent to USD 84.40 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 189.73 points or 0.31 per cent lower at 61,045.57, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 42.80 points or 0.23 per cent to 18,215.00.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,390.85 crore, as per exchange data.