Rupee falls 21 paise to 71.40 a dollar in opening trade

The local currency lost ground today on account of rise in the US dollar.

The dollar was steady near two-week high, supported by a sustained recovery in investor risk appetite which nudged US bond yields higher.

The dollar index, which measures its strength against a group of six major currencies, was steady at 96.315 after climbing to 96.394 percent on Friday, its strongest since Jan. 4.

Oil prices dipped on Monday as China reported its weakest annual economic growth in 28 years.

International Brent crude oil futures were at $62.57 per barrel at 0215 GMT, down 13 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last close.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) purchased shares worth Rs 842.13 crore Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 727.46 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds up 0.3 percent to 7.33 percent from its previous close of 7.31 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.