MUMBAI: The rupee appreciated by 11 paise to settle at 94.65 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday on the back of a steep fall in global crude oil prices.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 2.05 per cent at USD 75.50 per barrel in futures trade.
Positive sentiments in the domestic equity markets and FII inflows further supported the local unit, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 94.88 and traded in the range of 94.59-94.93 during the day. It settled at 94.65 (provisional), up 11 paise from its previous close.
The rupee declined 13 paise to close at 94.76 against the US dollar on Tuesday.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on strengthening US dollar amid hawkish Fed and weak global markets. However, falling crude oil prices and progress in the US-Iran talks may support the rupee at lower levels. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 94.45-95.10," Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 101.63, up 0.23 per cent.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex climbed 790.54 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 76,991.22, while the Nifty was up 197.55 points, or 0.83 per cent, to 24,021.65.
Foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 17.86 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data.