Rupee rises 20 paise in early trade

The rupee advanced 20 paise to 76.73 against the US dollar in the opening trade on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, amid a slight pullback in crude oil prices and a weak dollar.

Forex traders said the appreciation in the rupee will be limited as the deepening Russia-Ukraine conflict has sapped risk appetite in the market, pushing investors towards safe-haven assets.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a weak note at 77.02 against the US dollar, then pared its initial losses and touched 76.73, registering a gain of 20 paise from the previous close.

Rising crude oil prices

On Monday, the rupee slid for the fourth straight session and tanked 76 paise to close at 76.93, after touching its lifetime low of 77 against the US dollar, as crude oil prices climbed to multi-year highs amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The Indian rupee opened higher versus the US dollar amid a slight pullback in crude oil prices and a weak dollar, said Sriram Iyer, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities.

The RBI’s dollar-rupee sell-buy swap worth USD 5 billion on Tuesday will help traders gauge the central bank’s stance on the rupee and forwards, Iyer said, adding that markets could continue to remain volatile.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.16 per cent to 99.13.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 1.79 per cent to USD 125.41 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 117.7 points or 0.22 per cent higher at 52,960.45, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 19.20 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 5,882.35.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth ₹7,482.08 crore, as per stock exchange data.