Mumbai

The rupee weakened in early trade on Monday, slipping 4 paise to 90.24 against the US dollar, as rising geopolitical tensions following US military action in Venezuela boosted demand for the American currency.

Forex market participants said the domestic unit is likely to remain under pressure amid global uncertainty, although softer crude oil prices could offer limited support.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee began the session at 90.21 against the dollar and soon moved lower to 90.24 in initial deals. On Friday, the local currency had closed 22 paise weaker at 90.20 against the greenback.

The dollar index, which measures the strength of the US currency against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.36 per cent to 98.50.

Geopolitical concerns intensified after the US carried out a military operation in Venezuela on Saturday, resulting in the removal of President Nicolas Maduro. US President Donald Trump later said Washington would take control of the South American nation and utilise its extensive oil reserves for global supply.

In the commodities market, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, edged down 0.07 per cent to USD 60.70 per barrel in futures trading.

On the domestic equity front, benchmark indices traded in the red during early hours. The BSE Sensex fell 135.81 points to 85,626.20, while the NSE Nifty declined 25.75 points to 26,302.80.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Friday, purchasing shares worth Rs 289.80 crore, as per exchange data.

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Separately, the Reserve Bank of India’s latest data released on Friday showed that India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 3.293 billion to USD 696.61 billion for the week ended December 26. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had increased by USD 4.368 billion to USD 693.318 billion.