Indian rupee appreciated 9 paise to 79.81 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Monday, supported by the fall in crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 79.86 against the American dollar. In early trade, the local currency witnessed a high of 79.81 and a low of 79.87 against the U.S. dollar. In the previous closure, the rupee had closed at 79.90 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.10 percent to 106.62. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.54 percent to USD 102.62 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for September delivery dropped 65 cents, or 0.7%, to $94.05 a barrel.
According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Finrex Treasury Advisors, the rupee opened higher as oil moved down along with a lower dollar index. Meanwhile, since not much data is available, the rupee should see a range-bound movement between 79.60 to 79.90 for the day, he said.
The Euro has not been able to go up much as the market awaits cues from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on July 27. Officials at the U.S. Federal Reserve have indicated that the central bank would likely raise rates by 75 basis points at its July 26-27 meeting.
