Rupee slips 9 paise to 71.27 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee opened on a weak note and declined by 9 paise to 71.27 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday, tracking weak opening in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows.

Forex traders said weak opening in domestic equities, rising crude oil prices and foreign fund outflows dragged the local unit, but weakening of the American currency in the overseas market supported the rupee.

The rupee opened weak at 71.26 at the interbank forex market and then fell further to 71.27, down 9 paise over its last close.

The rupee had settled at 71.18 against the US dollar on Thursday.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.31 per cent to USD 55.10 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, as they sold shares worth Rs 560.36 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data.

Domestic bourses opened on a negative note on Friday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 27.18 points down at 41,278.85 and Nifty down 24.65 points at 12,113.30.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell by 0.05 per cent to 98.44.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.42 per cent in morning trade.