Foreign investors are pulling money out of India and that's hurting the rupee

The rupee opened on a weak note and declined by 21 paise to 71.09 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday, as sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on investor community.

Forex traders said rising demand for the US dollar vis-a-vis other currencies overseas also weighed on the domestic currency.

The rupee opened weak at 71.00 at the interbank forex market and then fell further to 71.09, down 21 paise over its last close.

The rupee had settled at 70.88 against the US dollar on Friday.

However, easing crude oil prices supported the rupee and restricted the downfall.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, eased 0.27 per cent to USD 58.21 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 682.93 crore on Friday, as per provisional data.

On the domestic market front, benchmark indices Sensex was trading 220.22 points higher at 37,893.53 and Nifty up 51.50 points at 11,226.25.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.03 per cent to 98.83.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.68 per cent in morning trade.