Rupee sheds 15 paise against US dollar in early trade

The rupee depreciated by 15 paise to 71.02 against the US dollar in early trade Tuesday at the interbank foreign exchange, after US President Donald Trump suggested a tariff hike on Chinese goods.

The domestic unit opened weak in line with other Asian currencies after Trump Monday said that for any trade deal China has to treat his country "fairly".

"Here's what the bottom line is:  China has to treat us fairly.  They haven't been. They have to treat us fairly," Trump told reporters at the White House.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened lower at 70.91 and declined further to quote at 71.02, showing a fall of 15 paise over its previous close.

The rupee Monday fell by 18 paise to close at 70.87 against the US dollar.

Forex dealers said fresh demand for the American currency from importers amid marginal rise in crude prices weighed on the domestic unit.

The international benchmark, Brent crude was trading higher by 0.28 per cent to USD 60.65 per barrel.

Traders said, fresh foreign inflows restricted the decline in the local unit.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) made fresh purchases worth Rs 62.74 crore Monday, as per provisional data.

Meanwhile, the 30-share Sensex was trading 27.28 points, or 0.08 per cent, lower at 35,326.80. The NSE Nifty too witnessed similar movement, and was trading 18.70 points, or 0.18 per cent, lower at 10,609.90.