Rupee falls 3 paise to 83.15 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 3 paise to 83.15 against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking a strong greenback against major rivals overseas and massive selling in domestic equity markets.

However, inflow of foreign funds in domestic equity markets and softening crude oil prices in the international markets resisted a steep fall in the domestic currency, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 83.13 and slipped further to 83.15 against the dollar, registering a loss of 3 paise from its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee declined 26 paise to settle at 83.12 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.08 per cent higher at 103.19 on Wednesday.

Analysts attributed unabated gains in the US dollar to safe-haven demands amid concern over disruption in global trade through the Red Sea route.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.47 per cent to USD 77.92 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 719.37 points, or 0.98 per cent, lower at 72,409.40. The broader NSE Nifty declined 233.10 points, or 1.06 per cent, to 21,799.20.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the equity market on Tuesday as they bought shares worth Rs 656.57 crore, according to exchange data.