The rupee slipped 16 paise to 75.70 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday as rising coronavirus cases in the country weighed on investor sentiment.
Forex traders said rupee was trading in a narrow range as positive opening in domestic equities supported the local unit, but market participants were concerned about the impact of spiking coronavirus cases on the economy.
The local unit opened at 75.55, then lost further ground and fell to 75.70 against the greenback, down 16 paise over its previous close.
It had settled at 75.54 against the US dollar on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting chief ministers of states for the fifth time in 51 days on Monday. Any cues of removal or extension of lockdown will be keenly awaited, Reliance Securities said in a note.
In India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,206 and the number of cases climbed to 67,152 in the country, according to the Health Ministry.
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Meanwhile, the number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed over 41.02 lakh and the death toll has topped 2.8 lakh.
Domestic bourses were trading on a positive note on Monday with the benchmark Sensex up 336.49 points at 31,979.19 and broader Nifty rising 99.95 points to 9,351.45.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market, as they bought equity shares worth Rs 1,724.71 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01 per cent down at 99.72.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.42 per cent to USD 30.53 per barrel.
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