Rupee slips against dollar in opening trade

The rupee slipped to 70.93 against the US currency in opening trade on Friday amid a stronger dollar in overseas markets.

The domestic currency was trading lower by 5 paise at 70.93 at 0925 hrs against the US currency. The rupee moved in a range of 70.93 to 70.89 at the interbank foreign exchange market in opening trade.

It had closed at 70.88 on Thursday on foreign fund inflows.

The US dollar rose to multi-weeks high against major global currencies as the impeachment probe into US President Donald Trump weighed on investor sentiment.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices eased after a quick recovery in Saudi Arabia's production which was hit by attacks at its refineries. The Brent North Sea crude declined 0.8 per cent to USD 62.21 per barrel.

Easing crude prices and foreign fund inflows capped losses in the rupee against the US dollar, analysts said.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who were net sellers for the last few sessions, bought equities worth a net Rs 737.17 crore on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.

Domestic stocks declined in the early trade amid weak global cues. Market benchmark BSE Sensex was down by 14.91 points or 0.04 per cent at 38,974.83 while the broader NSE Nifty slipped by 18.3 points or 0.16 per cent to 11,552.90.