Mumbai, Apr 17 (PTI) The rupee rallied for the fourth straight session and rose 10 paise to 85.54 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday amid a renewed inflow of foreign funds in domestic equities and a weak American currency.
However, subdued equity market sentiment and a slight recovery in crude oil prices put the local currency under pressure, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.48 and slipped to 85.54 against the greenback in early deals, trading 10 paise higher from its previous closing level.
The rupee closed Wednesday’s session with a gain of 16 paise at 85.64 against the dollar.
The Indian currency strengthened by 104 paise in the preceding three sessions since the level of 86.68 against the greenback, its closing mark recorded on April 9.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally higher by 0.14 per cent at 99.28.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.96 per cent to USD 66.48 per barrel in futures trade.
Gold prices soared by Rs 1,650 to hit an all-time high of Rs 98,100 per 10 grams in the national capital on Wednesday amid a global rush for safe-haven bets triggered by an escalated trade war between the US and China.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 333.47 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 76,710.82, while the Nifty declined 127.55 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 23,309.65.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,936.42 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
