Rupee rises 14 paise to 79.64 against US dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee appreciated 14 paise to 79.64 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday in line with its Asian peers and as the American currency retreated from its elevated levels.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 79.70 against the dollar, then touched 79.64 against the American currency, registering a gain of 14 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee declined by 7 paise to close at 79.78 against the dollar.

The rupee opened slightly stronger as Asian equities are flat or higher, dollar index is at 109.80, US Treasury yields at 3.45 per cent and Asian currencies slightly more robust than Friday closing, said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors.

"The range for the day is expected to be 79.50 to 80 with a close watch on RBI as they try to maintain the 80 level," Bhansali added.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.09 per cent to 109.80.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.62 per cent to USD 91.92 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 54.44 points or 0.09 per cent up at 58,895.23. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 23.45 points or 0.13 per cent to 17,554.30.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,260.05 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, gross direct tax collections grew 30 per cent to Rs 8.36 lakh crore till September 17 of current fiscal year on higher advance tax mop-up buoyed by the economic revival post pandemic, the finance ministry said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the country's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 2.234 billion to USD 550.871 billion for the week ended September 9, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.