Rupee opens on flat note against US dollar in early trade

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.02 per cent to 90.38.

Mumbai: The rupee opened on a flat note and edged higher by 3 paise to 72.81 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, amid positive domestic equities and sustained foreign fund inflows.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 72.81 against the US dollar, registering a rise of just 3 paise over its previous close.

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On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 72.84 against the American currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.02 per cent to 90.38.

Forex traders said rupee is trading in a narrow range as gains due to a weak greenback could be offset by the Reserve Bank’s presence in the markets.

The key trigger point for the markets will be Friday’s CPI and IIP numbers, they said.

“Technically, the USD-INR spot pair could continue to trade sideways in the range 72.80-73.00 for the next couple of sessions,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 150 points higher at 51,459.39, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 37.35 points to 15,143.85.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,786.97 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.47 per cent to USD 61.18 per barrel.