Rupee rises 21 paise to 69.49 against USD in early trade

The rupee appreciated by 21 paise to 69.49 against the US dollar in opening trade Wednesday ahead of the US central bank's meeting.

The rupee opened strong at 69.57 at the interbank forex market then gained further ground to touch 69.49 per dollar, displaying gains of 21 paise against the greenback.

Forex dealers said market participants are waiting for the monetary policy of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), Bank of England and Bank of Japan, scheduled this week.

Besides, positive opening in domestic equities, foreign fund inflows and selling of the American currency by exporters supported the rupee.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 69.70 against the US dollar.

Foreign funds infused Rs 31.73 crore in the capital markets on a net basis Tuesday, provisional data showed.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading with gains of 251.93 points, or 0.65 per cent to quote at 39,298.27 while the NSE Nifty was trading at 11,782.70, up 91.20 points, or 0.78 per cent.

Meanwhile, brent crude, the global benchmark, was trading at 62.23 per barrel higher by 0.14 per cent.