The rupee opened higher against the US dollar on Monday amid falling crude oil prices and weaker American currency.

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At 09:10 AM, the rupee was trading at 68.58 a dollar, up 10 paise from its Friday’s close of 68.68. The home currency opened at 68.51 and touched a high and a low of 68.51 and 68.60 a dollar, respectively.

In the currency market, the dollar traded cautiously lower amid expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut this month.

Against a basket of currencies the dollar held near a 10-day low at 96.814, still pressured by comments last week from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Chicago Fed president Charles Evans indicating U.S. rate cuts are needed to boost inflation.

In commodity markets, oil prices slipped on Monday after China posted its slowest quarterly economic growth in at least 27 years.

China’s economic growth slowed to 6.2 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, in line with analysts’ expectations, with demand at home and abroad faltering as the Sino-U.S. trade war bites.

Brent crude futures for September fell 21 cents to $66.51 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 316.86 crore Thursday, provisional data showed.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds were down 0.1 percent to 6.49 percent from its previous close of 6.49 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.