The rupee depreciated by 6 paise to 70.98 against US dollar in early trade on Friday as weak macro environment and rising crude prices kept investors edgy. However, a weak dollar against major currencies overseas, persistent foreign fund inflows and a positive opening in the domestic equity market extended support to the rupee, forex dealers said. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened on a weak note at 70.96 and fell further to trade at 70.98, down 6 paise over its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee had settled with a marginal fall of 2 paise at 70.92. The domestic unit came under pressure after official data released on Thursday showed that the growth of core industries plummeted in September. Output of eight core infrastructure industries contracted by 5.2 per cent in September, the lowest in the decade, indicating severity of economic slowdown. As many as seven of eight core industries saw a contraction in output in September. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.12 per cent higher at USD 59.69 per barrel. The BSE Sensex was trading 136.83 points, or 0.34 per cent, higher at 40,265.88, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 33.90 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 11,911.35. Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,870.87 crore on Thursday, exchange data showed. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.15 per cent to 97.20. The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.45 per cent in morning trade.
