Rupee gains 14 paise to 75.79 against U.S. dollar in early trade

The rupee appreciated 14 paise to 75.79 against the U.S. dollar in opening trade on Monday, amid a pullback in crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.94 against the American dollar, then gained further ground to quote 75.79, registering a rise of 14 paise from the last close.

On Friday, the rupee appreciated 10 paise to settle at 75.93 against the U.S. dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.13% higher at 99.92.

Most Asian and emerging market peers are trading weaker against the U.S. dollar this Monday morning and could weigh on sentiments, however subdued crude oil prices will cap depreciation bias, said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

However, the big trigger for the markets will be Indian and U.S. CPI inflation data on Tuesday, Mr. Iyer said.

“India’s central bank last week shifted its top focus away from economic growth towards checking inflation risks in Asia’s third-biggest economy, reflecting the urgency to rein in spiralling domestic price pressures from the spillover of the Ukraine conflict,” Mr. Iyer noted.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 322.35 points or 0.54% lower at 59,124.83, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 73.70 points or 0.41% to 17,710.65.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 2.33% to $100.39 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday, as they offloaded shares worth ₹575.04 crore, as per stock exchange data.