Rupee rises 9 paise to ₹79.81 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee appreciated 9 paise to ₹79.81 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, supported by the fall in crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 79.86 against the American dollar. In initial trade, the local currency witnessed a high of ₹79.81 and a low of ₹79.87 against the US dollar.

In the previous session, the rupee closed at ₹79.90 against the American currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.10% to 106.62.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.54% to $102.62 per barrel.

According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors, the rupee opened higher as oil moved down along with a lower dollar index.

The euro has not been able to go up much as the market awaits cues from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on July 27.

Meanwhile, since not much data is available, the rupee should see a range-bound movement between ₹79.60 to ₹79.90 for the day, Bhansali said.

On the domestic equity front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 95.33 points or 0.17% lower at 55,976.90, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 31.80 points or 0.19% to 16,687.65.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they sold shares worth ₹675.45 crore, as per exchange data.