Rupee surges 13 paise to 73.16 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The Indian rupee gained 13 paise to 73.16 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday tracking positive domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 73.20 against the dollar, then inched higher to 73.16, registering a gain of 13 paise over its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee had settled at 73.29 against the US dollar.

“Asian currencies have started weaker against the greenback and rising crude prices this Tuesday morning and will weigh on sentiments,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback”s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.05 per cent to 90.47 ahead of a much-anticipated Federal Reserve meeting that could signal a change in the outlook for US monetary policy.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.29 per cent to USD 73.07 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 233.61 points or 0.44 per cent higher at 52,785.14, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 66.05 points or 0.42 per cent to 15,877.90.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 503.51 crore, as per exchange data.

Meanwhile, on the domestic macro-economic front, retail inflation rose to 6.3 per cent in May, breaching the RBI”s comfort level, on the back of costlier food items.

Wholesale price-based inflation too accelerated to a record 12.94 per cent in May on account of rising prices of crude oil, manufactured goods and the low base of last year due to the COVID-19 lockdown.