Rupee Rises 5 Paise To 95.57 Against US Dollar In Early Trade

The rupee gained 5 paise to 95.57 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, supported by falling crude oil prices and a broader recovery in Asian currencies.

Forex traders said going ahead currency market direction will majorly be driven by unfolding geopolitical developments.

Softer crude oil prices remain the major support for the rupee, while a firm American currency after the US Fed's rate hike and foreign portfolio outflows remain the main concerns.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.58 then touched 95.57 against the American currency, registering a gain of 5 paise from its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 95.62 against the US dollar.

"We see 96.30 as the upper cap, with strong Reserve Bank intervention expected as the pair approaches 96.30–96.50, and support at 95.50 and then 95.00. Softer crude remains the rupee's clearest support, with a firm dollar after the Fed's hike and foreign portfolio outflows the main offsets," said Anindya Banerjee, Head of Commodity and Currency Research, Kotak Securities.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 100.70, higher by 0.10%.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.99% at $98.27 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex climbed 283.66 points to 74,812.74 in early trade, while Nifty rose 85.55 points to 23,414.55.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,809.99 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data.