Rupee up 2 paise to 83.25 against US dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee rose 2 paise to 83.25 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, tracking lower greenback on the back of easing US bond yield.

However, muted trend in domestic equity markets, unabated outflow of foreign funds and increased volatility in crude oil prices triggered by geopolitical situation put pressure on the Indian currency, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 83.25 against the greenback, 2 paise higher from its previous close.

On Thursday, the domestic currency settled at 83.27 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent higher at 101.52 on Friday.

Global oil price benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.97 per cent to $80.16 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 21.45 points or 0.03 per cent lower at 70,843.65. The broader NSE Nifty rose 16.50 points or 0.08 per cent to 21,271.55.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the equity market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,636.19 crore, according to exchange data.