Rupee inches 4 paise higher to 73.27 against US dollar in early trade

"Rising number of COVID-19 cases is prompting worries about a new wave of lockdowns in Europe and hopes from US stimulus spending are fading", Reliance Securities said in a research note.

Mumbai: The rupee opened on a flat note and inched 4 paise higher to 73.27 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee was trading in a narrow range. It opened at 73.32 against the American currency, gained some ground and touched 73.27, up 4 paise from its previous close.

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On Wednesday, the rupee settled at 73.31 against the US dollar.

“Rising number of COVID-19 cases is prompting worries about a new wave of lockdowns in Europe and hopes from US stimulus spending are fading. This could limit appreciation bias for the domestic unit,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.

It further added that “RBI mopping up flows by purchasing dollars in anticipation of fund and portfolio flows could also keep the appreciation bias limited for the domestic unit”.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.03 per cent to 93.40.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 150.05 points lower at 40,644.69, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 42.80 points to 11,928.25.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 821.86 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.16 per cent to USD 43.39 per barrel.