The rupee inched up 3 paise to 71.31 against the US dollar in early trade on February 20 even as foreign fund outflows continued amid firming oil prices.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the domestic unit opened strong at 71.29 but gave up the gains to trade at 71.31.
The rupee had closed at 71.34 versus the greenback on February 18. Money markets were closed on February 19 on account of Chhatrapati Shivaji Jayanti.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained in sell-off mode, offloading shares worth a net ₹813.76 crore Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of ₹1,163.85 crore, provisional data showed.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.14% higher at $66.54 per barrel.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was marginally down by 0.01% at 96.51.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose after nine straight sessions of fall. It rebounded 282.75 points, or 0.80%, to 35,635.36 in early session on February 20.