Indian rupee opens higher against UAE dirham in early trade

Indian rupee opens higher against UAE dirham in early trade

The Indian rupee appreciated nine paise to 82.73 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, supported by easing crude oil prices and a firm trend in Indian equities.

Forex traders said sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiments and restricted the appreciation bias.

At the Indian interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 82.75 against the dollar, then gained ground to touch 82.73, registering a rise of 9 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee recovered from its all-time low level and settled at 82.82 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.04 per cent to 104.21.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.99 per cent to $78.61 per barrel.

Despite the greenback’s weakness elsewhere, the rupee did not strengthen on dollar persistent bids throughout the session. The South Asian currency has been extremely range bound of late, IFA Global Research Academy said in a research note.

“We expect the rupee to trade in a 82.60-82.90 range with sideways price action,” it added.

In the Indian equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 162.86 points or 0.27 per cent higher at 60,820.31. The broader NSE Nifty rose 60.20