The rupee opened on a weak note and fell 17 paise to 71.71 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday amid foreign fund outflows and cautious opening in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 71.65 then fell to 71.72 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 17 paise over its previous closing.

The Indian rupee on Wednesday had closed at 71.55 against the US dollar.

Traders said cautious opening in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows weighed on the local unit, while weakening of the greenback vis-a-vis some currencies overseas and easing crude oil prices added support to the local unit.

Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.17 per cent to USD 60.20 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 770.81 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data.

Market regulator Sebi on Wednesday simplified KYC requirements for foreign portfolio investors and permitted them to carry out off-market transfer of securities.