Mumbai: The rupee inched higher by 8 paise to 74.79 against the US dollar in opening trade Tuesday ahead of the US Fed and other central bank meeting this week.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 74.83 against the dollar and inched further to 74.79 in early deals, a rise of 8 paise over its previous close.
On Monday, the rupee had settled at 74.87 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.03 per cent to 93.84.
Most emerging market and Asian currencies have started mixed this Tuesday, while crude continued to remain firm and could appreciation bias, Reliance Securities said in a research note.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.08 per cent to USD 84.78 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 20.46 points or 0.03 per cent higher at 60,158.92, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 9.35 points or 0.05 per cent to 17,939.00.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 202.13 crore, as per exchange data.
According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors, before the US Fed meeting, OPEC and the NFPR, all markets are trading in a small range.
Rupee is expected remain in a range of 74.60 to 75.20 with flows from IPOs getting absorbed by oil buying/RBI, he said.
“Euro and GBP unable to move up against the dollar and now markets awaiting Fed comments Wednesday. Importers are likely to buy near 74.80 fearing a hawkish Fed and bullish oil, while exporters may sell for the near term above 75.00 levels,” he noted.