Indian rupee opened higher by 13 paise to a two-week high of 73.34 against the US dollar on Wednesday amid softening crude oil prices and easing concerns over the trade deficit.

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At 09:15 AM, the rupee was trading at 73.48 a dollar, up 1 paise, from its Tuesday’s close of 73.47. The home currency opened at 73.34 and touched a high and a low of 73.34 and 73.48 a dollar, respectively.

The rupee climbed 35 paise to end at nearly two-week high of 73.48 per dollar Tuesday. Traders said foreign fund inflows and greenback weakening against other currencies were the other factors that provided support to the home unit.

Brent crude was up 0.4 percent, at $81.77 a barrel, after settling up 63 cents the session before. The global benchmark, which hit a more than two-week low late last week as equity markets dropped, is trading about $5 below a four-year high of $86.74 marked on Oct. 3.

The rupee is the worst performing emerging market currency having lost almost 15 percent since January this year. Between April and September the rupee has plummeted more than 7 to the dollar.

Stock markets also gained with the benchmark 30-share Sensex rising by 364 points or 1 percent to 35,526 in the opening trade.

Foreign investors bought shares worth Rs 67.86 crore Monday, while domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 294.78 crore, provisional data showed.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds rose 0.15 percent to 7.88 percent after closing at 7.87 percent on Tuesday. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

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First Published:Oct 17, 2018 9:20 AM IST