The rupee opened higher against the greenback on Thursday, extending gains to a third session, as trade worries between the US and China eased.

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At 09:10 AM, the rupee was trading at 70.29 a dollar, up 5 paise from its Wednesday’s close of 70.34. The home currency opened at 70.24 and touched a high and a low of 70.24 and 70.30 a dollar, respectively.

Global risk appetite improved following US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s remarks that he expects trade talks to resume soon in China.

In the currency market, the dollar traded little changed at 109.500 yen, a day after it retreated to a low of 109.150 against the safe-haven yen as US yields slid on weak US April retail sales and industrial output data.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was nearly flat at 97.542 after posting modest gains the previous day.

In commodity markets, oil prices edged up to extend gains into a third straight session, as tensions in the Middle East stoked fears of potential disruptions to supply.

International Brent crude futures were at $72.04 a barrel at 0110 GMT, up 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close. Brent closed up 0.7 percent on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors net sold equities worth Rs 1,142.44 crore on Wednesday, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds were up 0.20 percent to 7.39 percent from its previous close of 7.38 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.