Indian rupee inches up

The Indian rupee opened inched higher by three paise to 72.94 against the US dollar, or 19.87 versus dirham, in early trade on Thursday as investors looked to key US inflation data and European Central Bank meeting later in the day for further cues.

The rupee had touched 72.98 against the American currency in initial deals.

"The rupee started on a flat note this Thursday against the greenback as investors await data. At the same time, Asian equities have started with gains and could rub-off on the domestic equities, in turn aiding sentiments for the local unit," Reliance Securities said in a research note.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.10 per cent to 90.21.

“The US dollar index continued to hover near a five-month low versus major peers on Thursday morning in Asian trade as investors looked to key US inflation data and the European Central Bank meeting later in the day to potentially set the direction for currency markets,” the Reliance Securities’ note said.

On the equity front, the Bombay Stock Exchange was trading 142.99 points or 0.28 per cent higher at 52,084.63, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 57.0 points or 0.36 per cent to 15,692.35.

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