In early trading, the Indian rupee decreases 9 paise to 79.03 against the US dollar

In the first transaction of the day on Monday, the rupee fell 9 paise to 79.03 against the US dollar as ongoing withdrawals of foreign capital dampened investor confidence. Forex traders claimed that the local currency is being supported by the low price of crude oil.

However, they warned, concerns about inflation and GDP in India and elsewhere may limit the appreciating bias. The Indian rupee depreciated by 9 paise from the previous close to quote 79.03 at the interbank foreign exchange from an opening price of 78.97 versus the US dollar.

The rupee had reached its previous session low against the US dollar on Friday, closing at 78.94. "Due to the US holiday today, there will be no need for USD cash. Maybe we'll see some lower levels for the pair closer to 78.80. Exporters might sell the upticks toward 79.20 for short-term exposures, while importers should take advantage of the dips and purchase their next 10-15 days' worth of exposures "according to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors.

The 30-share Sensex was trading 20.63 points, or 0.04 percent, lower at 52,887.30 on the domestic equities market, while the larger NSE Nifty was down 22.65 points, or 0.14 percent, at 15,729.40. The dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six different currencies, was at 105.14 at the time.

Benchmark Brent crude futures for world oil decreased 0.8% to USD 111.54 per barrel. According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors continued to be net sellers on Friday in the capital market, selling shares worth Rs 2,324.74 crore.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported on Friday that the country's foreign exchange reserves climbed by USD 2.734 billion to USD 593.323 billion for the week ended June 24 as a result of a rise in the core currency assets.