The Indian rupee depreciated by 21 paise against the $ in early trade today on banks buying the US unit in anticipation of capital outflow by funds as domestic markets are seen opening in the negative.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the domestic currency lost 21 paise to quote at 47.91 over the previous session's close of 47.70/72.
The local unit had ended the day cheaper by nine paise yesterday.
Forex dealers said a strong greenback against a basket of Asian currencies and a negative outlook for the markets, which may follow suit from weak Asian
Meanwhile, Asian markets are down by as much as 3 per cent in early trade.
