Rupee sheds 15 paise

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 15 paise to 65.81 against the US dollar in opening trade at the interbank forex market today on increased demand for the greenback from importers and banks amid soaring crude oil prices overseas.

Foreign capital outflows too weighed on the domestic unit.

However, weakness in the US dollar against select currencies and higher opening in domestic equity market capped the fall in the rupee, dealers said.

On Wednesday the rupee had slipped by 2 paise to settle at a seven-month low of 65.66 against the US currency due to sustained dollar demand.

On a net basis, foreign funds sold worth equities 915.71 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex gained 147.14 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 34,478.82 in opening deals.