The rupee opened on a weak note and declined by 14 paise to 71.11 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday after reports that the US-China trade deal signing could be delayed to December weighed on investor community. Forex traders said, the decline in the domestic unit was largely in tandem with other Asian currencies after reports of delay in US-China trade deal. However, sustained foreign fund inflows, positive opening in domestic equities and easing crude oil prices supported the local unit. The rupee opened weak at 71.10 at the interbank forex market and then fell further to 71.11, down 14 paise over its last close. The rupee had settled at 70.97 against the US dollar on Wednesday. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, eased 0.08 per cent to USD 61.69 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, putting in Rs 1,011.49 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data. On the domestic market front, benchmark indices Sensex was trading 129.09 points higher at 40,598.87 and Nifty was up 34.55 points at 12,000.60. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.04 per cent to 97.99. The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.49 per cent in morning trade.
