Rupee rises 2 paise to 83.72 against US dollar in early trade

In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened strong at 83.70 against the US dollar, moving within a tight range of 83.70 to 83.72 in early trade.

New Delhi: The rupee appreciated by 2 paise to trade at 83.72 against the US currency in the early session on Monday amid a weak dollar in the overseas markets.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened firm at 83.70 against the US dollar. The local currency moved in a tight range of 83.70 to 83.72 in early trade.

---

The rupee was trading at 83.72 against the US dollar at 9.30 am.

Foreign fund outflows from Indian equities after the government’s decision to hike the tax rate on capital gains weighed on the local currency and restricted the upmove, forex traders said.

The domestic currency had recovered from its all-time low by 5 paise to settle at 83.73 against the US dollar on Friday, on the strength in domestic markets and expectations of fresh foreign inflows.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex hit an all-time high, rising 355.7 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 81,688.42 in early trade on Monday.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was at 104.23, marginally down by 0.08 per cent.

Brent crude futures — the global oil benchmark — rose 0.24, or 0.3 per cent, to USD 81.37 per barrel.

India’s forex reserves had jumped USD 4 billion to reach an all-time high of USD 670.857 billion for the week ended July 19, according to the Reserve Bank data released on Friday.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Friday as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,546.38 crore, according to exchange data.