Mumbai: The Indian rupee depreciated 8 paise to 71.34 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday tracking uncertainty over the US-China trade deal and subdued opening of the domestic equity market. Whereas gold prices rallied by Rs 118 to Rs 38,678 per 10 gram in the national capital helped by a recovery in global prices and sharp rupee depreciation against the dollar, according to HDFC Securities.
However, weakness in the US dollar against other currencies overseas and easing crude oil prices supported the domestic unit and capped the fall.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 71.36 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 8 paise over its previous closing.
On Friday, the local unit had closed an over three-week low of 71.28 against the US dollar.
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The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell marginally by 0.01 per cent to 98.34.
Crude oil benchmark, Brent Futures, eased 0.86 per cent to USD 61.97 per barrel.
The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.55 per cent in morning trade.
On the global front, US President Donald Trump said he has not agreed to roll back tariffs on Chinese imports, dampening recent optimism for a major de-escalation in the US-China trade war.
Gold prices
HDFC Securities Senior Analyst (Commodities) Tapan Patel said spot gold prices for 24 Karat in Delhi were trading up by Rs 118 with recovery in global gold prices and sharp rupee depreciation.
On Saturday, the precious metal had closed at Rs 38,560 per 10 gram.
Silver prices also gained Rs 293 to Rs 45,263 per kg as against Rs 44,970 per kg in the previous trade.
On international trend, he said, "Gold prices on Monday witnessed marginal recovery after declining more than 3 per cent in the previous week on US-China trade deal hopes."
In the global market, gold was trading with gains at USD 1,463 an ounce and silver at USD 16.85 per ounce.
Market ends marginally higher
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fought bouts of volatility triggered by a sharp fall in Asian equities amid escalating political issues in Hong Kong and uncertainty over US-China trade deal.
After swinging 266 points during the day, the 30-share Sensex ended 21.47 points or 0.05 per cent, higher at 40,345.08. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 5.30 points, or 0.04 per cent, to end at 11,913.45.
Yes Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack rising 5.80 per cent, followed by Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank and Tata Steel.
On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp, Vedanta, TCS, RIL, Asian Paints, Maruti and M&M fell up to 2 per cent.
Indian market will be closed on Tuesday for "Guru Nanak Jayanti".
