Mumbai, Mar 16 (PTI) The rupee stayed weak and lost 13 paise to 92.43 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by massive withdrawal of foreign funds and surging crude oil prices amid geopolitical uncertainties.

Volatile sentiment in domestic equity markets further dragged the currency down even as the greenback retreated from higher levels, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 92.44 and stayed close to its lowest-ever intra-day level, trading at 92.43 against the greenback, registering a loss of 13 paise from its previous close.

In the preceding session on Friday, the rupee hit its lowest intra-day level of 92.47 before ending at its record closing low of 92.30 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.13 per cent lower at 99.98.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 1.03 per cent at USD 104.22 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex rose 139.28 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 74,703.20, while the Nifty went up 51.10 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 23,202.20.

Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 10,716.64 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.

The country's forex reserves dropped by USD 11.683 billion to USD 716.810 billion during the week ended March 6, the RBI data showed on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased by USD 4.885 billion to an all-time high of USD 728.494 billion. PTI HVA DR DR

Foreign exchange stability: rupee weakened as capital outflows and reserves decline increased market pressure. Foreign exchange stability: the rupee weakened against the US dollar as foreign portfolio outflows, higher global crude prices and volatile equity markets drove the currency to near intra day lows; exchange data showed significant FII net selling and a notable weekly decline in forex reserves reported by the central bank, highlighting interacting external and domestic drivers relevant to reserve management and market stability.