The rupee opened lower against the greenback on Friday, snapping a 3-day rally, hurt by a stronger US dollar and surging crude oil prices.
NSE
At 09:10 AM, the rupee was trading at 70.24 a dollar, down 21 paise from its Thursday’s close of 70.03. The home currency opened at 70.24 and touched a high and a low of 70.20 and 70.27 a dollar, respectively.
On Thursday, the rupee closed at 70.03 against the US dollar, its third straight session of gain, during which it has strengthened by 48 paise.
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 held near a two-week high against its peers on the back of strong US economic data.
The dollar index versus a basket of six major currencies stood at 97.836 after reaching 97.882 on Thursday, its highest since May 3.
In commodity markets, oil prices edged higher, extending gains into a fourth session as rising tensions in the Middle East stoked fears of potential supply disruptions.
International Brent crude futures were at $72.82 a barrel at 0024 GMT, up 20 cents, or 0.3%, from their last close.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 953.23 crore Thursday, as per provisional data.
In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds were up 0.16 percent to 7.39 percent from its previous close of 7.38 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.