Rupee rises 8 paise to 82.77 against US dollar

The rupee gained 8 paise to 82.77 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday supported by foreign fund inflows. Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as investors are awaiting cues from the minutes of the US Fed's May meeting, due later in the day.

Moreover, strength of the greenback is restricting the appreciating bias.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.83 against the dollar and then rose to 82.77, registering a gain of 8 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee closed at 82.85 against the US currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.03 per cent to 103.46.

"In the overseas markets, the US Dollar Index started flat to marginally stronger this early Wednesday morning in Asian trading ahead of FOMC meeting minutes," said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst-Commodities & Currencies Reliance Securities Ltd.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.90 per cent to USD 77.53 per barrel.

"The Chinese Yuan continued to weaken further and as investors continued to remain concerned about a US default as debt-ceiling dragged on the negative sentiment will weigh on the local unit," Iyer said.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 52.11 points or 0.08 per cent to 61,929.68. The broader NSE Nifty fell 17.55 points or 0.1 per cent to 18,330.45.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Tuesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 182.51 crore, according to exchange data.