Rupee slips 26 paise to 70.18 vs US dollar amid US-China trade related concerns

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated by 26 paise to 70.18 against the US dollar in early trade Monday amid US-China trade related concerns and rising crude oil prices. Forex traders said the strengthening of the greenback vis-a-vis other currencies overseas, foreign fund outflows and cautious opening in domestic equities added pressure to the domestic unit. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened on a weak note at 70.16 then fell further to 70.18 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 26 paise over its previous closing. The local unit, however, pared some losses and was quoted at 70.16 against the American currency at 0937 hrs. The Indian rupee Friday had closed at 69.92 against the US dollar. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out Rs 1,245.14 crore on a net basis Friday, provisional data showed. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.27 per cent to USD 70.81 per barrel. Meanwhile, domestic bourses opened on a cautious note Monday. The BSE gauge Sensex was trading at 37,448.91, lower by 14.08 points while the NSE Nifty was trading at 11,265.15 down by 13.75 points in early trade. Meanwhile, the United States, President Donald Trump on Sunday accused China of breaking the negotiated trade deal draft and indicated toughening of his stand against China in a series of tweets. After the near collapse of trade talks with China last week, Trump on Friday imposed a hefty duty on import of Chinese products from 10 per cent to 25 per cent worth more than USD 200 billion and asking for a similar increase on tariff on the rest of the Chinese import of over USD 300 billion.