Rupee falls 22 paise to 75.95 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee depreciated 22 paise to 75.95 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday amid strengthening American currency overseas and weak opening in domestic equities.

Forex traders said the local unit opened weak against the greenback tracking gains in the US gollar. Moreover, selloff in domestic equities and rising coronavirus cases in the country weighed on investor sentiment.

The local unit opened at 75.89, then lost further ground and fell to 75.95 against the US dollar, down 22 paise over its previous close.

It had settled at 75.73 against the US dollar on Monday.

"Most Asian currencies depreciated against the US Dollar this Tuesday morning as investors remained cautious about re-opening the economy too quickly, which could result in a second wave of the COVID-19 infections," Reliance Securities said in a research note.

On the domestic front, market participants will be keeping an eye on inflation and Index of Industrial Production number that will be released later in the day.

In India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,293 and the number of cases climbed to 70,756 in the country on Tuesday, according to the Health Ministry.

Domestic bourses were trading on a negative note on Tuesday with the benchmark Sensex falling 456.48 points at 31,104.74 and the broader Nifty slumping 126.95 points at 9,112.25.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market, as they bought equity shares worth Rs 534.87 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 100.27.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.30 per cent to USD 29.72 per barrel.