Rupee slips 3 paise to 73.07 against the US dollar in early trade

The rupee opened on a flat note and depreciated 3 paise to 73.07 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday tracking the muted opening in domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.07 against the US dollar, registering a fall of 3 paise over its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 73.04 against the American currency.

"The rupee is sustaining below 73.20 levels indicating a negative momentum may continue in the today's session. Support is at 72.95 72.80 levels for the spot pair. Resistance for the pair is 73.20," said Kshitij Purohit, Product Manager, Currency and Commodities at CapitalVia Global Research.

Traders said most of the Asian currencies are trading weak against the US Dollar as the dovish comments from the US Fed Chief Jerome Powell weighed on the greenback and could keep gains in check.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.06 per cent to 90.29.

"The US dollar index is trading flat this morning in Asian trade against major peers as dovish Fed offset US stimulus plan from the President-elect Joe Biden," Reliance Securities said in a research note.

The euro, the sterling and the Japanese yen were trading flat against the US dollar in Asian trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 228.13 points lower at 49,356.03, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 72.60 points to 14,523.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,076.62 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.41 per cent to USD 56.19 per barrel.