Rupee slips 18 paise to 86.88

Mumbai

The rupee weakened by 18 paise to 86.88 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday due to strong month-end demand for dollars from importers and continued foreign fund outflows. It opened at 86.76 at the interbank foreign exchange and touched a low of 86.88, down from Monday’s close of 86.70.

Traders noted that weak domestic equities and ongoing FII selling added pressure on the rupee. The dollar index rose slightly to 98.64, while Brent crude edged up 0.04% to $70.07 per barrel.

Anil Kumar Bhansali of Finrex Treasury Advisors said the RBI is managing the rupee’s fall gradually, though it's nearing a one-month low of 86.90.

On the stock market front, Sensex was up 51.09 points at 80,942.11 and Nifty rose 18.30 points to 24,699.20. FIIs sold shares worth ₹6,082.47 crore on Monday, further dampening sentiment.