Rupee gains 18 paise against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 18 paise to 75.62 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, tracking positive domestic equities.

However, the surge in the rupee was restricted amid elevated crude oil prices, sustained foreign fund outflows and strength of the American currency in the overseas market.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.76 against the American dollar, then gained further ground and touched 75.62, registering a rise of 18 paise from the last close.

In the previous session, the rupee had settled at 75.80 against the greenback.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.13 per cent higher at 97.51.

"US bonds and dollar rose after the US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome



Powell signalled an interest rate hike lift-off, vigilance on inflation, and economic resilience and could keep the rupee under pressure," said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

Markets will continue to remain volatile, and RBI could be present to curb excess volatility, Iyer noted.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 39.05 points or 0.07 per cent higher at 55,507.95 while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 9.40 points or 0.057 per cent to 16,615.35.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 3.72 per cent to USD 117.13 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,338.94 crore, as per stock exchange data.