The rupee depreciated by 8 paise to 82.05 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, tracking a strong American currency and withdrawal of foreign funds from domestic equities.

Negative sentiments in the domestic as well as global equity markets also weighed on the Indian currency. However, crude prices sliding below USD 75 per barrel capped the fall in the local unit, forex traders said At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.05 and traded between 82.07-82.04 against the greenback. The currency later traded at 82.05 against the dollar, registering a fall of 8 paise from its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee settled at 81.97 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.20 per cent at 102.59.

Crude oil price benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.69 per cent lower at USD 73.63 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 194.96 points or 0.31 per cent to 63,043.93, while broader NSE Nifty fell 70.45 points or 0.36 per cent to 18,700.80.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 693.28 crore, according to exchange data.

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