The rupee depreciated 12 paise to 82.66 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, weighed down by sustained foreign fund outflows and a muted trend in domestic equities.

Firm crude oil prices and a strong American currency further dented investor sentiments, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.59 against the dollar, then fell to 82.66, registering a decline of 12 paise over its last close.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the rupee appreciated 16 paise to close at 82.54 against the US dollar after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the repo rate by 25 basis points.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.05 per cent to 103.36.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.01 per cent to USD 85.08 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 177.7 points or 0.29 per cent lower at 60,486.09. The broader NSE Nifty declined 81.65 points or 0.46 per cent to 17,790.05.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 736.82 crore, according to exchange data.

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