Rupee appreciates 10 paise to 83.53 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee appreciated 10 paise to 83.53 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, on the overall dollar weakness in the overseas market.

Forex traders said the US dollar has weakened against majors post the weak consumer confidence print. The US consumer confidence dropped by the most in three years to 98.7 from 105.6 in August.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.59 against the American currency, then touched 83.54, registering a rise of 10 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee depreciated 9 paise to close at 83.63 against the American currency.

"The Indian rupee which depreciated on Tuesday opened stronger on the overall dollar weakness against Asian currencies and European currencies," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.21 per cent to 100.25 points.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading lower by 0.28 per cent to $74.96 per barrel in futures trade.

Forex traders said the rupee continues to hold steady within a well-defined range on active intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex appreciated 33.63 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 84,947.67, while the Nifty was up 6.35 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 25,946.75 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,784.14 crore, according to exchange data.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday retained India's growth forecast for the current fiscal at 7 per cent and said that the economy is expected to accelerate in the coming quarters on improved farm output, and higher government spending.

In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) update of September, the ADB said exports in the current fiscal will be higher than earlier projected, led by larger services exports. However, merchandise export growth will be relatively muted through the next fiscal.