Rupee rises 42 paise to 71.59 per US dollar in early trade

The rupee Thursday appreciated by 42 paise to 71.59 in early trade after the new RBI governor Shaktikanta Das took charge and stressed on the need of a consultative approach to tackle pressing economic issues. Forex traders said a higher opening of domestic equity markets and weakening of the US dollar against some currencies overseas boosted the local unit.

“The new RBI governor’s first speech confirms our initial impression that he is likely to be more communicative and consultative in his approach, which is a positive,” Japanese financial services major Nomura said in a research note.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened on a strong note at 71.70 against the US dollar, then appreciated further to 71.59 showing a rise of 42 paise over its previous closing.

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On Wednesday the rupee had declined by 16 paise to 72.01 per US dollar.

Traders, however, said that significant foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices weighed on the domestic currency and capped the upmove.

Foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 1,299.43 crore from the capital markets on a net basis Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 1,121.29 crore, provisional data showed.

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The global benchmark Brent crude was trading higher by 0.68 per cent at 60.56 per barrel.

Meanwhile, domestic equity market opened on a higher note. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex, was trading at 35,985.34, up 206.27 points in early trade. The wide-based Nifty was also trading with gains of 61.30 points at 10,798.90.