Rupee falls 12 paise to 74.58 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The Indian rupee depreciated 12 paise to 74.58 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday tracking a firm American currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 74.55 against the dollar, then fell further to 74.58, registering a fall of 12 paise over its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 74.46 against the US dollar.

The Indian Rupee started on a weak note this Friday as investors await fresh cues, Reliance Securities said in a research note.

Crude has moved back above USD 70/barrel and could keep appreciation bias limited, the note said, adding that risk appetite remained mixed and could keep the currency in small trading band this Friday.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India will release its weekly forex reserves data after-market hours.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback”s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading up 0.05 per cent at 92.87.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.31 per cent to USD 73.56 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 116.62 points or 0.22 per cent higher at 52,953.83, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 28.75 points or 0.18 per cent to 15,852.80.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 247.59 crore, as per exchange data.