Rupee rises 13 paise to 92.78 against US dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee appreciated 13 paise to 92.78 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, following a sharp drop in crude oil prices amid hopes of easing geopolitical tension and the impact of the Reserve Bank's measures.

Forex traders, however, said the currency is likely to stay range-bound with the situation in West Asia remaining volatile after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz for shipping.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.73 and moved up to 92.70 level before trading at 92.78 against the greenback in early deals, up 13 paise from the previous closing level.

The rupee strengthened 28 paise to settle at 92.91 against the US dollar on Friday, a day after gaining 19 paise in the preceding session on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.22 per cent at 98.11.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 5.34 per cent down at USD 95.21 per barrel in futures trade.

Analysts said the crude price bounced back from below the USD 90-a-barrel level reached on Friday, as the geopolitical situation turned volatile after a fresh standoff between the US and Iran prevented ships from crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

Domestic equity markets remained choppy in morning trade, with the 30-share Sensex trading 63.11 points or 0.08 per cent up at 78,556.65 in early trade, while the Nifty slipped 3.10 points or 0.01 per cent to 24,367.55.

Foreign Institutional Investors bought equities worth Rs 683.20 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.