The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04% lower at 95.69.
The Indian rupee was trading in a narrow range in early morning trade on January 21 as sluggish domestic equity markets and continued outflow of foreign funds negated the impact of softening crude oil prices.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 74.50 against the US dollar, then rose to 74.48. The local unit also touched an opening low of 74.53 against the US Dollar in the opening session.
On January 20, the rupee had lost 7 paise to close at 74.51 against the US dollar.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04% lower at 95.69.
Reliance Securities, in a research note, said a softening crude oil prices would curb the weakness, though weak Asian and emerging market peers would undermine the strength of the domestic unit.
The weekly futures and options will expire today, so the market may remain choppy ahead of the expiry, it added.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 516.36 points or 0.87% lower at 58,948.26, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading 151.45 points or 0.85% lower at 17,605.55.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 1.84% to $86.75 a barrel.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on January 20 as they sold shares worth Rs 4,679.84 crore, according to stock exchange data.
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