The rupee on Monday depreciated 12 paise to 81.97 against the US dollar in early trade, weighed down by firm crude oil prices and a negative trend in domestic equities.
Forex traders said the strengthening of the American currency in the overseas market also weighed on the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.90 against the dollar, then fell to 81.97, registering a decline of 12 paise over its last close.
On Thursday, the rupee settled at 81.85 against the dollar.
Domestic forex and equity markets were closed on Friday on account of Ambedkar Jayanti.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.15 per cent to 101.70.
Oil prices
Oil prices on Monday went up on Monday as investors are waiting for signs of a demand recovery in China as it will be releasing its economic data this week. Brent crude futures went up 17 cents to $86.48 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude went up 14 cents to $82.66 a barrel.
Markets
The markets after a long weekend opened in red with Sensex at 59,900.21, down by 530.79 points and Nifty dropped by 110.80 points at 17,717.20. Power Grid, Kotak Bank, Nestle, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank were the top gainers on Monday whereas SBI, Tata Motors, NTPC, HDFC, TCS and HCL Tech were the top losers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday as they purchased shares worth Rs 221.85 crore, according to exchange data.
Traders said factors like global market sentiment, quarterly earnings, crude oil prices, movement in US DXY & other FX currencies and lastly RBI's action will dictate terms for the domestic currency.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves increased by USD 6.306 billion to USD 584.755 billion for the week ended April 7, the RBI said on Friday.
"...RBI has always piled up their FX reserves and forward book whenever the pair has tested multi-week or month lows. So, as long as RBI keeps on buying on dips and holds the 81.50 level, one can expect a reversal move towards 82.30-82.50 over the short-term," CR Forex Advisors MD-Amit Pabari said
With inputs from PTI
