The Indian rupee weakened by 22 paise to trade at 69.36 to the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday owing to increased demand for the greenback from importers and banks.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 69.32 and weakened further to 69.37 to the US dollar. However, it recovered partially to quote at 69.36 against the dollar at 0912 hours.The Indian unit had appreciated by 16 paise on Friday to close at 69.14.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital markets, putting in Rs 898.79 crore on Monday, as per provisional data.Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.23 per cent to trade at USD 67.17 per barrel.