Rupee edges 4 paise lower to 73.03 against USD in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee slipped 4 paise to 73.03 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday in line with cautious domestic equities.

However, weaker American currency and sustained foreign fund inflows lent some support to the rupee in restricting its fall to a certain extent.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic unit opened lower and went on to touch the lowest level of the Friday morning session at 73.03, registering a 4 paise loss over the previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 72.99 against the American currency.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.03 per cent to 90.10.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex was trading 150.42 points or 0.30 per cent lower at 49,474.34 while the NSE Nifty was down 54.35 points or 0.37 per cent at 14,590.35.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,614.66 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, dropped 0.93 per cent to USD 55.65 per barrel.