The rupee on Thursday opened 6 paise higher at 93.27 against the US dollar in early trade, owing to declining crude oil prices and a weakening of the US dollar, which had attained its maximum strength of 98.14 on Tuesday amid market volatility triggered by the West Asia crisis.
According to forex traders, crude oil prices hovering below the $95-a-barrel level sent positive cues to investors worldwide, including equity investors in India.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee appreciated six paise against the US dollar as it was trading at 93.27 from 93.33 in the previous session.
The US dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.12 per cent at 97.72. Despite the positive cues, oil prices on Thursday continued to remain up by 0.02 per cent at $94.95 a barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex gained 529.55 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 78,640.79 in early trade, while the Nifty rose 156.50 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 24,387.80.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers on Wednesday and offloaded equities worth Rs 666.15 crore.
Besides, government data released during the previous session highlighted that the Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation rose sharply to an over-3-year high of 3.88 per cent in March, driven by a sharp spike in rates of fuel, power and manufactured items amid the West Asia crisis.
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