Indian rupee opens lower against UAE dirham

Indian rupee opens lower against UAE dirham

The Indian rupee depreciated five paise to 82.75 against the US dollar (22.54 versus the UAE dirham) in early trade on Wednesday as the strengthening of the American currency against key rivals and firm crude prices in global markets weighed on the rupee.

However, a higher opening in Indian equities supported the South Asian currency and capped the losses, forex traders said.

At the Indian interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 82.76 against the dollar, then inched higher to 82.75, registering a decline of 5 paise over its last close.

In the previous session on Tuesday, the rupee settled 8 paise lower at 82.70 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.10 per cent to 104.07.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.39 per cent to $80.30 per barrel.

In the Indian equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 255.63 points or 0.41 per cent higher at 61,957.92.

The broader NSE Nifty rose 67.15 points or 0.37 per cent to 18,452.45.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they purchased shares worth Rs4.56 billion, according to exchange data.

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday affirmed India’s