Indian rupee opens at 20.13 against UAE dirham

The Indian rupee was trading in a narrow range in morning trade on Thursday as muted Indian equities and weak macroeconomic data weighed on investor sentiments.

Forex traders said elevated crude oil prices also affected the appreciating bias in the local unit.

At the Indian interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 73.91 against the American dollar (20.13 against the UAE dirham), then inched higher to 73.89, registering a rise of 4 paise from the last close. The local unit also touched 73.97 in early deals.

In the previous session, the rupee had settled almost flat at 73.93 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.06 per cent higher at 94.97.

On the Indian equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 8.45 points or 0.01 per cent lower at 61,141.59, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 5.70 points or 0.03 per cent to 18,206.65.

On the macroeconomic front, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) remained muted for the third straight month in November 2021, while retail inflation rose to a six-month high of 5.59 per cent in December.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.20 per cent to $84.50 per barrel.

(with inputs from PTI)

• Dubai
• India