Rupee rises 7 paise to 74.15 against US dollar in early trade

Traders said the domestic unit is trading in a narrow range as investors are awaiting cues from the key speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair

People walk past the Bombay Stock Exchange building during rain, in Mumbai, Aug. 18, 2021

The Indian rupee gained 7 paise to 74.15 against the U.S. dollar in opening trade on August 27, amid a muted trend in the domestic equities.

Traders said the domestic unit is trading in a narrow range as investors are awaiting cues from the key speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Moreover, a firm dollar in the overseas markets and rising crude prices weighed on the investor sentiment, forex traders added.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 74.17 against the dollar, then inched higher to 74.15, up 7 paise over its previous close.

On August 26, the rupee had settled at 74.22 against the U.S. dollar.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 1.04% to $71.81 per barrel.

Meanwhile, according to a media report, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that all the actions of the central bank will be calibrated and well-timed, as the Reserve Bank does not want to give any sudden shock or any sudden surprises to the markets.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.06% to 93.00.

On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 72.44 points or 0.13% lower at 55,876.66, while the broader NSE Nifty inched 0.80 points higher to 16,637.70.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on August 26 as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,974.48 crore, as per exchange data.