Rupee inches 5 paise higher to 77.99 against U.S. dollar in early trade

The rupee opened on a flat note and inched higher by 5 paise to 77.99 against the U.S. dollar in opening trade on Wednesday.

Forex traders said lacklustre domestic markets, elevated crude oil prices and persistent foreign capital outflows weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 77.99 against the dollar, registering a rise of 5 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had closed at its lifetime low of 78.04 against the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.28 per cent to 105.21.

The Indian rupee opened on a flat note against the dollar on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Fed meeting outcome, Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said.

Asian and emerging market peers have started mixed, while equity futures have started with small gains and could cap the downside for the USD/INR spot pair, Mr. Iyer noted.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.19 per cent to $121.40 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 47.1 points or 0.09 per cent lower at 52,646.47, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 13.95 points or 0.09 per cent to 15,718.15.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth ₹4,502.25 crore, as per exchange data.