Rupee rises 6 paise to 83.94 against US dollar during early trade

The rupee rose 6 paise to 83.94 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday supported by a weaker greenback and lower crude oil price.

However, volatility in the domestic equity markets and FII outflows capped sharp gains in the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.97 against the US dollar and rose to 83.92 before slipping marginally to 83.94, higher by 6 paise from its previous close.

The domestic unit had settled at 84.00 on Monday.

The reconstituted rate-setting panel of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday started deliberations on the next bi-monthly monetary policy.

The decision of the panel will be announced on Wednesday, which could determine the movement in the rupee over the next few days.

In the current context, experts feel that the RBI may not follow the US Federal Reserve, which lowered the benchmark rates by 50 basis points, and the central banks of some developed nations, which have reduced the interest rates.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex was trading flat at 81,044 points. The Nifty, too, remained stable at 24,787.40. Both indices suffered losses in the previous six trading sessions.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.13 per cent to 102.39.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 1.62 per cent to USD 79.62 in futures trade.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday, offloading shares worth Rs 8,293.41 crore on a net basis in the cash segment, according to exchange data.