Rupee rises 15 paise to 69.72 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee appreciated by 15 paise to 69.72 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday, driven by positive opening in domestic equities and weakening of the greenback in overseas markets. Forex dealers said, easing crude prices, sustained foreign fund inflows and selling of the American currency by exporters supported the rupee.

The rupee opened strong at 69.78 at the interbank forex market then gained further ground to touch 69.72 per dollar, displaying gains of 15 paise against the greenback.

On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 69.87 against the US dollar.

However, the currency market is expected to witness high volatility ahead of the release of key economic data later in the day, they said.

Meanwhile, Narendra Modi was on Thursday sworn in as the Prime Minister for a second term helming a 58-member ministry.

Besides 25 Cabinet ministers including Modi, Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal and Jaishankar, nine were sworn in as Minister of State with Independent charge and another 24 as Minister of State.

Foreign funds infused Rs 1,664.74 crore in the capital markets on a net basis Thursday, provisional data showed.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading with gains of 267.63 points, or 0.67 per cent to quote at 40,099.60 while the NSE Nifty was trading at 12,033.30, up 87.40 points, or 0.73 per cent.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, was trading at 66.03 per barrel lower by 1.26 per cent.