Rupee slips 16 paise to 69.10 vs USD in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee opened on a weak note and declined by 16 paise to 69.10 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday, amid sustained foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices.

Forex traders said cautious opening in domestic equities and strengthening of the US dollar vis-a-vis against other currencies overseas kept the pressure on the Indian rupee. The rupee opened weak at 69.10 at the interbank forex market, down 16 paise over its last close. The rupee had settled at 68.94 against the US dollar on Tuesday.

Forex traders said the rupee is expected to trade in a narrow range ahead of the much crucial European Central Bank (ECB) policy statement to be released on Thursday.

Other major global cues that are going to dictate terms to the rupee include the US second-quarter preliminary GDP print on Friday and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on July 31, traders said.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.27 per cent to USD 64 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 2,607.97 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional data.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note day with benchmark indices Sensex trading 100.39 points down at 37,882.35 and Nifty down 40.80 points at 11,290.25.

Meanwhile, the IMF on Tuesday cut its growth forecast for India for this year and the next saying its GDP will now grow respectively at the rate of 7 per cent in 2019, and 7.2 per cent in 2010, reflecting a weaker-than-expected outlook for domestic demand.