Rupee gains 11 paise to 74.31 against U.S. dollar in early trade

The rupee appreciated by 11 paise to 74.31 against the U.S. dollar in opening trade on January 7, tracking gains in domestic equity markets.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened up at 74.41 against the American dollar, then inched higher to 74.31, registering a rise of 11 paise from the last close.

In the previous session, the rupee settled at 74.42 against the U.S. dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.11% lower at 96.21.

Forex traders said growing concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus and its impact on economic recovery as well as firm crude oil prices weighed on the local unit and contained the appreciating bias. Meanwhile, on the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 475.91 points or 0.80% higher at 60,077.75, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 139.80 points or 0.79% to 17,885.70.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.65% to $82.52 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on January 6 as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,926.77 crore, as per exchange data.