Rupee slips 12 paise to 70.93 vs USD in early trade

The rupee opened on a weak note and fell 12 paise to 70.93 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday ahead of the outcome of Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy review meet.

Forex traders besides RBI's monetary policy review outcome, unabated foreign fund outflows and cautious opening in domestic equity market also weighed on the local unit.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened weak at 70.92 then fell to 70.93 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 12 paise over its previous closing.

The Indian rupee on Tuesday had closed at 70.81 against the US dollar.

Traders said weakening of the greenback vis-a-vis other currencies overseas and easing crude oil prices added support to the local unit.

Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.10 per cent to USD 58.88 per barrel, as US-China trade dispute rattled investor sentiments.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 2,107.93 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional data.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note on Monday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 69.12 points down at 36,907.73 and Nifty lower by 27.10 points at 10,921.15.

Meanwhile, on the global front investors fretted as dispute between tow of the world's largest economies intensified over tariffs and currency.

China has meanwhile reported to have said that it is halting new purchases of US agricultural products after President Trump vowed last week to impose new tariffs on Chinese goods starting in September.