In the first trading session of the New Year on Monday, the rupee was unchanged as rising crude oil prices and ongoing outflows of foreign funds dampened market optimism.
According to forex dealers, the domestic currency is trading in a limited range as advances in crude oil prices and persistent outflows of foreign funds offset the domestic currency's support from strong domestic stocks and a weak American dollar.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 82.66, registering a decline of 5 paise from the last close.
The local unit also touched an early high of 82.57 against the greenback in initial deals.
On the last trading day of 2022, the rupee had settled at 82.61.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.30 per cent to 103.52.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced by 2.94 per cent to USD 85.91 per barrel.
The rupee started flat this Monday morning amid lack of clues from the overseas markets. However, gains could be capped tracking the overall gains in crude oil last week, Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities said.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, India's fiscal deficit at end-November touched 59 per cent of the full year Budget Estimate on increased capital expenditure and slow growth in non-tax revenue.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves dropped by USD 691 million to USD 562.808 billion as of December 23, making it the second consecutive week of decline in the kitty, according to the RBI data.
The collections from Goods and Services Tax (GST) grew 15 per cent to over Rs 1.49 lakh crore in December 2022.
The 30-share Sensex was up 210.53 points, or 0.35 percent, at 61,051.27 on the domestic equities market, while the larger NSE Nifty was up 57.15 points, or 0.32 percent, at 18,162.45.
According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors continued to be net sellers on Friday in the capital market, selling shares worth Rs 2,950.89 crore.
With inputs from Agencies.
