Mumbai: The rupee opened on a weak note and fell 12 paise to 71.15 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday amid rising crude oil prices and strengthening of the US dollar vis-a-vis other currencies overseas. Forex traders said cautious opening in domestic equities weighed on the local unit. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened weak at 71.15 showing a decline of 12 paise over its previous closing.

The Indian rupee on Thursday had closed at 71.03 against the US dollar. Traders said sustained foreign fund inflows added support to the local unit. Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.11 per cent to USD 66.61 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, as they purchased shares worth Rs 739.43 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.05 per cent to 97.43.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note on Friday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 57.79 points up at 41,731.71 and Nifty up by 23.90 points at 12,283.60.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.63 per cent in morning trade.