Rupee appreciates 9 paise to 82.31 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee gained 9 paise to 82.31 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday amid a weak dollar and a positive trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.36 against the dollar, then climbed to 82.31, registering a rise of 9 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee closed at 82.40 against the US currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.11 per cent to 103.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.04 per cent to USD 75.02 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 220.99 points or 0.38 per cent to 57,748.09 points. The broader NSE Nifty gained 76.10 points or 0.45 per cent to 17,021.15 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,720.44 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India's forex kitty rose USD 12.798 billion to USD 572.801 billion in the week ended March 17.

In the previous reporting week, the reserves had dropped USD 2.39 billion to a three-month low of USD 560.003 billion.