Rupee falls 9 paise to 95.17 against US dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee depreciated 9 paise to 95.17 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday as the support from lower crude oil prices were offset by lingering geopolitical risks.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.13, then touched 95.17 against the American currency, registering a fall of 9 paise from its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee settled at 95.08 against the American currency.

"For now the rupee finds itself caught between encouraging diplomatic headlines and lingering geopolitical risks.. Positive developments around Hormuz could help it revisit the 94.80–95.00 zone," said CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 0.05 per cent higher at 99.72.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.20 per cent lower at USD 79.29 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex climbed 201.43 points to 78,782.43 in opening trade, while Nifty was marginally up by 16.35 points to 24,641.

Foreign institutional investors turned to selling and offloaded equities worth Rs 943.42 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.