Rupee slips 6 paise to 72.41 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 6 paise to 72.41 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday tracking weakness in Asian peers.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 72.35 against the US dollar, then lost further ground and touched 72.41, registering a fall of 6 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 72.35 against the American currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.19 per cent to 90.

“Most of the Asian currencies have started weak this Thursday morning and could weigh on sentiments,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.

Technically, the USD-INR spot pair holds a support near 72.25-72.30 levels and only a sustained trade below could see a bearish momentum up to 72.10-71.95 levels. However, a bounce back from 72.30 could take the pair up to 72.45-72.60 levels, the note added.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 414.04 points higher at 51,195.73, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 135.95 points to 15,117.95.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market and purchased shares worth a massive Rs 28,739.17 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.16 per cent to USD 67.15 per barrel.