NEW DELHI: Rupee weakened in early trade on Thursday, losing 12 paise to 94.50 against the US dollar as rising crude oil prices and a decline in the equity market weighed down the currency. A softer dollar and lower US treasury yields, however, helped limit the fall.The currency opened at 94.47 at the interbank foreign exchange market before slipping to 94.50. The decline came a day after the rupee had climbed 53 paise to close at 94.38 against the dollar on Wednesday.Forex analysts said the rupee was trading on a flat-to-lower note amid pressure from the domestic stock market and higher oil prices. The dollar’s weakness and easing US Treasury yields offered some support to the currency.Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, expects rupee to retain a slight positive bias.“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight positive bias on IPO related foreign inflows and weakness in the dollar. Softening of US treasury yields and reports that Russia is ready for new peace talks may also support the rupee,” he told PTI.Choudhary added that market participants would track the weekly unemployment claims data from the US for further direction.The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.21 per cent to 101.56. In contrast, Brent crude futures rose 1.58 per cent to $110.54 per barrel.Anindya Banerjee, head of commodity and currency research at Kotak NEO, said the rupee remained finely balanced within the 94-97 range.“The RBI has bought itself time, the Jio IPO has added near-term dollar supply, and a US trade agreement could strengthen the structural inflow story. But if portfolio selling accelerates again or crude makes a decisive move towards $120, that balance will be tested,” Banerjee added.The domestic equity market also remained under pressure during early trade. BSE Sensex dropped 642.51 points to 73,067.18, while NSE Nifty50 declined 241.35 points to 22,570.90.Despite the weakness in equities on Thursday morning, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the previous session. They purchased equities worth Rs 1,022.32 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
