Mumbai, May 27: The rupee declined 19 paise to 85.29 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday amid waning foreign fund inflow and subdued domestic equity market sentiment.
Forex traders said though receding crude oil prices supported the local unit, investors stayed cautious ahead of the release of industrial and manufacturing production data for April as well as the first quarter GDP growth numbers, scheduled later this week.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.15 and declined further to 85.29 against the greenback in initial deals, registering a loss of 19 paise over its previous close.
The rupee closed 35 paise higher at 85.10 against the greenback on Monday, after gaining 50 paise in the preceding session on Friday.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.03 per cent at 98.83.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 0.26 per cent to USD 64.56 per barrel in futures trade.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 465.46 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 81,710.99, while the Nifty went down 149.90 points, or 0.60 per cent, to 24,851.25.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 135.98 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data. (PTI)
