Mumbai, August 1: The rupee depreciated 3 paise to 82.32 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as the strength of the American currency in the overseas markets and firm crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments. However, positive domestic equities restricted the depreciating bias, traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.32, registering a decline of 3 paise over its last close. On Monday, the rupee had settled at 82.29 against the dollar. Forex traders said the rupee is expected to trade with a negative bias on the strong dollar and some selling by FIIs over the past couple of sessions. However, positive domestic markets cushioned the downside, they said. Market participants may take cues from PMI Manufacturing and Services data. INR vs USD: Indian Rupee Rises 11 Paise to 82.01 Against US Dollar in Early Trade.

Meanwhile, the Centre's fiscal deficit at the end of the first quarter touched 25.3 per cent of the full-year target, the government data showed on Monday.

In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit -- the gap between expenditure and revenue -- was Rs 4,51,370 crore as at end-June, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA). INR vs USD: Indian Rupee Rises 8 Paise to 81.70 Against US Dollar in Early Trade.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.18 per cent to 102.03 on good retail sales data from the US. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced by 0.67 per cent to USD 85.56 per barrel. In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 76.06 points or 0.11 per cent higher at 66,603.73. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 19.95 points or 0.1 per cent to 19,773.75.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 701.17 crore, according to exchange data.