Forex traders said factors like positive domestic equities and weakness in crude oil prices also supported the local unit.
Forex traders said factors like positive domestic equities and weakness in crude oil prices also supported the local unit.
The rupee rose 71 paise to 80.69 against the US currency in early trade on Friday as a fall in the dollar index coupled with softening US CPI data boosted investor sentiment.
Forex traders said factors like positive domestic equities and weakness in crude oil prices also supported the local unit.
In the interbank forex, the domestic unit opened at ₹80.76 against the dollar, then gained further ground to touch ₹80.69, registering a rise of 71 paise over its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee had gained 7 paise to close at 81.40 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.02% to 108.18 on cooling US CPI data.
The US headline CPI print came in at 7.7% year-over-year (0.4 month-on-month). The IFA Global Research Academy said in a note that the core CPI print, which excludes volatile food and energy components, declined 6.3% year-on-year (0.3% month-on-month).
“We expect the dollar index to remain weak and may test the 105.00 level in the near term,” said Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities, Mehta Equities Ltd.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.27% to $93.92 a barrel.
“We expect the rupee to strengthen in today’s session after a sharp decline in the dollar index and test the 80.80 level in the coming sessions,” Mr Kalantri said.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 1021.78 points or 1.69% higher at 61,635.48. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 282.70 points or 1.57% to 18,310.90.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday as they bought shares worth 36.06 crore, according to exchange data.