Rupee rises 1 paisa to 83.95 against US dollar

The rupee rose 1 paisa to 83.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday amid a firm trend in domestic equity markets and a weaker greenback against major overseas rivals.

However, an increase in global oil prices and heavy foreign fund outflows capped further recovery in the domestic currency, according to forex experts. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.95, marginally up by 1 paisa against the US dollar, and traded almost flat in early deals.

The local unit had settled at 83.96 against the greenback on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to keep policy rates unchanged also played a part in the rupee’s range-bound movement.

The RBI on Wednesday kept the policy rate unchanged for the tenth time in a row but shifted its stance from “withdrawal of accommodation” to “neutral” that may lead to a cut in the forthcoming policies. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.06 per cent to 102.86 points.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 0.80 per cent to USD 77.19 per barrel in futures trade. In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 203.10 points to 81,670.20 in early trade, while Nifty was up 71.55 points to 25,053.50. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,562.71 crore, according to exchange data.