Indian rupee opened stronger by 18 paise against the US dollar on Monday on the back of easing worries over current account deficit as Brent crude stayed below $60 per barrel.

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At 09:10 AM, the rupee was trading at 70.33 a dollar, up 34 paise from its Thursday’s close of 70.70. The home currency opened at 70.52 and touched a high and a low of 70.31 and 70.56 a dollar, respectively. Money markets were shut on Friday for a public holiday.

The rupee got a boost after oil markets started Monday timidly, with rising US crude inventories pressuring prices.

India imports nearly 80 percent of its total oil needs and a fall in price would drive down the value of its imports. A fall in oil prices by $10 per barrel helps reduce the current account deficit by $9.2 billion, according to market experts.

Besides, fund inflows by foreign investors also supported the domestic unit.

Foreign funds poured in Rs 446.24 crore into the capital markets on a net basis Thursday, while domestic institutional investors also net bought shares worth Rs 49.68 crore, provisional data showed.

Falling crude oil prices have supported the rupee, until recently the worst-performing monetary unit in Asia. This month, the local unit has gained 2.79 percent against the dollar, making the rupee the third best performer after the Chilean peso and the Indonesian rupiah.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds fell 0.34 percent to 7.68 percent after closing at 7.71 percent on Thursday. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

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