Rupee surges 26 paise against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 26 paise to 75.09 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday, supported by lower crude prices and a weak American currency in the overseas markets.

However, subdued domestic equity market and foreign fund outflows capped gains of the local unit, traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened strong at 75.10 against the US dollar and further strengthened to 75.09, showing a sharp gain of 26 paise against the previous close.

It was oscillating in a close range of 75.13 and 75.09 in early deals.

The rupee had settled at 75.35 against the US currency in the previous session.

The domestic



currency market was closed on Tuesday for the Id-E-Milad' holiday.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.06 per cent to 93.67.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures dipped 0.48 per cent to USD 84.67 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex was trading 34.52 points or 0.06 per cent lower at 61,681.53, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 8.90 points or 0.05 per cent to 18,409.85.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 505.79 crore, according to exchange data.