Rupee gains 19 paise to 82.28 against US dollar

MUMBAI: The rupee appreciated 19 paise to 82.28 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday in line with its Asian peers and a slide in crude oil prices.

Forex traders said muted domestic equities and foreign fund outflows weighed on the local unit and restricted the appreciation bias.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.34 against the dollar, then gained further ground to touch 82.28, registering a rise of 19 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee pared initial losses and settled marginally higher at 82.47 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.18 per cent to 105.28.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.95 per cent to USD 77.90 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 35.72 points or 0.06 per cent higher at 62,446.40. The broader NSE Nifty rose 13.15 points or 0.07 per cent to 18,573.65.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,241.87 crore, according to exchange data.

''Dollar has weakened across the board. DXY has dropped to 105.30 from highs around 105.89 seen on Thursday. Asian currencies are trading stronger against the Dollar,'' IFA Global Research Academy said in a research note.

RBI MPC on Wednesday hiked repo rate by 35bps to 6.25 per cent.

''The governor said further calibrated tightening would be required to break the persistence of core inflation, anchor inflation expectations and prevent second round effects. This statement was seen as being hawkish and has caused markets to price in a possibility of another 25bps hike in the next policy,'' the note added.