Rupee rises 7 paise to 82.73 against U.S. dollar in early trade

The rupee rose by 7 paise to 82.73 against the U.S. dollar on August 30 amid a positive sentiment in equity markets.

Rising crude oil prices and strengthening dollar, however, weighed on the Indian currency, according to Forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened stronger at 82.67 and hit the level of 82.74 against the greenback.

Later, the rupee was trading at 82.73 against the dollar, registering a gain of 7 paise from its previous close.

On August 29, the rupee closed at 82.80 against the U.S. dollar.

“Yesterday, in the latter part of the day, dollar fell sharply and that led to gains not only in major crosses but also in commodities,” Gaurang Somaiya, Forex and Bullion Analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said.

On the domestic front, GDP numbers will be important to watch and better-than-expected numbers could support the rupee, he said. GDP numbers are scheduled to be released on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.08% to 103.61.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.33% to $85.77 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 291.53 points or 0.45% higher at 65,367.35 points. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 78.20 points or 0.40% to 19,420.85 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on August 29 as they bought equities worth ₹61.51 crore, according to exchange data.