Indian rupee opened 21 paise higher on Wednesday, aided by weak crude oil prices and the dollar’s losses in global markets due to political uncertainty in the US.

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At 09:10 AM, the rupee was trading at 69.78 a dollar, up 36 paise from its Monday’s close of 70.14. The home currency opened at 69.93 and touched a high and a low of 69.78 and 69.93 a dollar, respectively.

Indian financial and money markets were shut on Tuesday for Christmas.

The dollar was broadly lower on Wednesday, due to heightened concerns over the partial US government shutdown and tension between the White House and the Federal Reserve, reported Reuters.

Dollar tried to steady in early Asian trade on Wednesday, edging up 0.3 percent on the yen to 110.64.

Meanwhile, oil prices were mixed in thin trading as the US benchmark rebounded from steep losses in the previous session.

International benchmark Brent crude futures were down 16 cents or 0.32 percent at $50.31 a barrel, having skidded 6.2 percent in the previous session to $50.47 a barrel, the weakest since August 2017.

"The currency will catch-up on back of lower oil prices," Ananth Narayan, professor at SPJIMR told CNBC-TV18. Narayan expects appreciation for rupee to begin from hereon. "Rupee could range between 69.50 and 70 to the dollar".

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds fell 0.63 percent to 7.24 percent from its previous close of 7.29 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

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