Rupee gains 31 paise to 94.29 against dollar as crude prices ease

The rupee strengthened 31 paise to 94.29 against the US dollar in early trade, supported by easing crude oil prices and a retreating dollar index. Markets also reacted positively to expectations of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 31 paise to 94.29 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday as Brent crude oil prices and the US dollar index retreated further from their elevated levels.

Forex traders said the rupee opened on a positive note as Brent crude has fallen to near USD 79 per barrel — a three-month low — as markets price in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following the US-Iran framework.

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At the interbank foreign exchange market the rupee opened at 94.46, then touched 94.29, registering a gain of 31 paise from its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee ended 2 paise lower at 94.60 against the US dollar.

In the last three sessions the rupee has recovered 130 paise since the US-Iran deal framework emerged.

“The rupee’s bias has shifted. On the upside, 95.00-95.30 is now a strong resistance zone for USDINR. With expectations of strong foreign capital inflows and USDINR having decisively broken below the 94.80 level, the pair could gradually move towards the 94.00–93.80 zone in the coming days,” CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said.

Pabari further added that the signing of the US-Iran agreement in Geneva on June 19 remains the event to watch. “Until then, the recovery is real but the ground is not yet firm,” he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 0.01 per cent down at 99.52.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.37 per cent at USD 78.67 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex was up 271.61 points to 77,080.09 in opening trade; Nifty advances 55.35 points to 24,044.50.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 749.18 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

In global developments, Vice President JD Vance will lead the US delegation for the in-person signing of the peace deal with Iran in Switzerland on Friday, President Donald Trump said.

Both Trump and Vance have electronically signed the framework agreement with Iran’s lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, according to a senior US official quoted by The New York Times.