At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 82.83 against the U.S. dollar and then rose to 82.77, registering a gain of 8 paise over its previous close.
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The rupee gained 8 paise to 82.77 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Wednesday (May 24) supported by foreign fund inflows.
Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as investors are awaiting cues from the minutes of the U.S. Fed’s May meeting, due later in the day.
Moreover, strength of the greenback is restricting the appreciating bias.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.83 against the dollar and then rose to 82.77, registering a gain of 8 paise over its previous close.
On Tuesday (May 23), the rupee closed at 82.85 against the U.S. currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.03% to 103.46.
“In the overseas markets, the US Dollar Index started flat to marginally stronger this early Wednesday morning in Asian trading ahead of FOMC meeting minutes,” said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst-Commodities & Currencies Reliance Securities Ltd.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.90% to $77.53 per barrel.
“The Chinese Yuan continued to weaken further and as investors continued to remain concerned about a US default as debt-ceiling dragged on the negative sentiment will weigh on the local unit,” Mr. Iyer said.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 52.11 points or 0.08% to 61,929.68. The broader NSE Nifty fell 17.55 points or 0.1% to 18,330.45.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Tuesday as they purchased shares worth ₹182.51 crore, according to exchange data.