Rupee rises 14 paise to 81.67 against US dollar in early trade

Rupee rises 14 paise to 81.67 vs US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, tracking weak American currency in overseas market. However, surge in crude oil prices capped sharp gains. US Fed expected to raise rates by 25 bps, language/tone to determine direction of currencies. Sensex up 1.77 points at 66,386.55, Nifty up 4.40 points at 19,676.75. FIIs net sellers in capital markets, offloaded shares worth ₹82.96 crore.

The rupee gained 14 paise to 81.67 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday tracking the weakness of the American currency in the overseas market.

However, a surge in crude oil prices capped sharp gains for the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.74, then touched a high of 81.67 against the American currency, registering a rise of 14 paise over its last close.

On Monday, the rupee had settled at 81.81 against the dollar.

"The flows have been strong enough and despite buying by RBI at various levels has kept the rupee on the stronger side despite a rise in dollar index to 101.30," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

The dollar index which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.09 per cent to 101.25.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.18 per cent to $82.89 per barrel.