Mumbai: The Indian rupee inched higher by 3 paise to 74.85 against the US dollar in opening trade Thursday.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 74.86 against the dollar, then inched higher to 74.85, registering a rise of just 3 paise over its previous close.
The rupee Wednesday had surged by 47 paise to close at a nearly two-week high of 74.88 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.01 per cent to 93.56.
According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors, “… A higher oil price is not allowing the pair to come to lower levels. For the day 74.60 to 75.00 should hold with an opening at 74.90.”
Bhansali further noted that the oil companies may step in to buy dollars. “Importers to hedge their near term while exporters may await for higher levels to sell,” he said.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,843.09 crore, as per exchange data.
On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 122.52 points or 0.20 per cent lower at 61,137.44, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 15 points or 0.08 per cent to 18,251.60.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.22 per cent to USD 85.63 per barrel.