Mumbai: The rupee opened on a weak note and fell 5 paise to 71.02 against the US dollar in early trade Thursday tracking cautious opening in domestic equities.
Forex traders said rupee is trading in a narrow range amid lack of cues on the domestic front.
Sustained foreign fund inflows and weakening of the US dollar vis-a-vis other currencies overseas supported the rupee, while muted opening in domestic equities weighed on the local unit.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened weak at 71.01 then fell to 71.02 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 5 paise over its previous closing.
The Indian rupee Wednesday had closed at 70.97 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, on the global front, Donald Trump has become the third President in US history to be impeached as the House of Representatives formally charged him with abuse of power and obstructing the Congress.
The House Wednesday night impeached President Trump on two counts – abuse of power and obstructing the Congress.
Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.02 per cent to USD 66.16 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,836.81 crore Wednesday, as per provisional data.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell by 0.07 per cent to 97.33.
Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note Thursday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 53.46 points down at 41,505.11 and Nifty down by 16.15 points at 12,205.50.
The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.74 per cent in morning trade.