Mumbai, Nov 20 (PTI) The rupee was trading in a narrow range against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, amid a negative trend in domestic equities.

Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as sustained foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.25 against the dollar and then touched a high of 83.23, and a low of 83.27 against the greenback.

On Friday, the rupee settled at 83.26 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.36 per cent lower at 103.54.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.73 per cent to USD 81.20 per barrel.

'Rupee opened virtually unchanged as demand for dollars continues unabated and RBI keeps its supply tap on,' said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 97.04 points or 0.15 per cent lower at 65,697.69 points. The broader NSE Nifty declined 17.05 points or 0.09 per cent to 19,714.75 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they sold shares worth Rs 477.76 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India's forex kitty decreased by USD 462 million to USD 590.321 billion for the week ended November 10, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

In the previous week, the overall reserves had increased by USD 4.672 billion to USD 590.783 billion. PTI DRR ANU ANU