The Indian rupee opened on a cautious note and fell 11 paise to 71.33 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday amid sustained rise in crude oil prices and foreign fund outflows. Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range amid lack of directional cues from the global market. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 71.27 then fell to 71.33 against the dollar, showing a decline of 11 paise over its previous closing. The Indian rupee on Wednesday had closed at 71.22 against the dollar. Traders said rise in crude oil prices weighed on the domestic unit, while sustained positive opening in domestic equities supported the rupee and restricted the fall. Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose by 0.30 per cent to USD 66.20 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, as they sold shares worth Rs 58.87 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data. Domestic bourses opened on a positive note on Thursday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 90.10 points up at 41,396.12 and Nifty higher by 34 points at 12,216.50. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.11 to 96.54. The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.50 in morning trade.
