Rupee falls 26 paise to 72.76 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee weakened by 26 paise to 72.76 against the US dollar Monday, owing to increased demand for the American currency from importers amid increasing global crude oil prices.

The international benchmark, Brent crude again breached the USD 71 a barrel mark by surging 1.21 per cent.

Forex traders said besides increased demand of the US currency from importers, the dollar's strength against some currencies overseas weighed on the rupee but a higher opening of the domestic equity markets, capped the losses.

At the Interbank forex market, the rupee opened lower at 72.74 and slipped further to quote at 72.76 against US dollar, down 26 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee rose by 50 paise to end at 72.50 per US dollar Friday on increased selling of the greenback by exporters amid softening crude oil prices, which slipped below the USD 70 per barrel mark.

Meanwhile, on net basis, foreign funds bought shares worth Rs 614.14 crore, while DIIs sold share to the tune of Rs 337.28 crore Friday, provisional data showed.

The benchmark BSE Sensex rose 99.26 points, or 0.25 per cent to 35,257.81.