Indian rupee gains, reaches 20.37 versus UAE dirham

Markets trade in a small range ahead of key central bank meetings.

The Indian rupee inched higher by eight paise to 74.79 against the US dollar (20.37 versus the UAE dirham) on Tuesday morning ahead of the US Federal Reserve and other central bank meetings this week.

At the Indian interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 74.83 against the dollar and inched further to 74.79 in early deals, a rise of eight paise over its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee had settled at 74.87 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.03 per cent to 93.84.

Most emerging market and Asian currencies have started mixed this Tuesday, while crude continued to remain firm and could appreciation bias, Reliance Securities said in a research note.

On the Indian equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 20.46 points or 0.03 per cent higher at 60,158.92, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 9.35 points or 0.05 per cent to 17,939.00.

Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors, said before the meetings of the US Fed, Opec and the NFPR, all markets are trading in a small range.

(with inputs from PTI)

• India