Rupee rises 13 paise to 95.65 against US dollar in early trade

The Indian rupee rose 13 paise to 95.65 against the US dollar in early trading on Tuesday, aided by a decline in crude oil prices and favorable domestic market sentiment. Forex traders noted the rupee opened up this morning, in contrast to its previous close of 95.75. The currency saw a gain of 13 paise, reflecting a stronger position.

On Monday, the rupee had appreciated by 18 paise, closing at 95.78 against the US dollar. Anindya Banerjee, Head of Commodity and Currency Research at Kotak Securities, highlighted softer crude oil prices as the main support for the rupee. He also mentioned strong Reserve Bank intervention as the currency approaches the 96.30–96.50 range, with support at 95.50 and 95.

The dollar index, gauging the greenback's strength against six currencies, traded at 100.35, slightly down by 0.07%. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was up 1.05% at $101.39 per barrel. The Sensex and the Nifty both showed gains in early trading, with the former up 42.51 points to 74,901.50 and the latter up 39.75 points to 23,454.05.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹576.20 crore on a net basis on Monday. Additionally, government data revealed a slowdown in key infrastructure sectors' output to a three-month low of 4.8% in August, driven by reduced production of coal, natural gas, crude oil, and fertilizers.