The rupee opened lower against the US dollar on Wednesday, as rising crude oil prices and steady greenback kept investors edgy.

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At 09:06 AM, the rupee was trading at 71.77 a dollar, down 6 paise from its Monday’s close of 71.71. The home currency opened at 71.86 and touched a high and a low of 71.77 and 71.87 a dollar, respectively.

Indian financial and money markets were shut on Tuesday on account of a public holiday.

Global stock markets advanced on China's new stimulus plan and after Friday’s soft US jobs report raised expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut.

In the currency market, the dollar was supported against the yen ahead of series of major central bank meetings over the next week.

Investor focus, for now, is centred on the European Central Bank’s meeting on Thursday, which is expected to push interest rates even further into negative territory, reported Reuters.

The ECB could set the tone for upcoming rate-setting decisions by the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan next week, and for the broader global risk appetite.

The dollar was steady on the yen and the New Zealand dollar.

In the commodity markets, oil prices rose after an industry report showed that crude stockpiles in the US fell last week by more than twice the amount that analysts had forecast.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures rose 43 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $62.81 a barrel, while WTI futures were up 47 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $57.87 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, pulling out Rs 188.08 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds were up 0.58 percent at 6.62 percent from the previous close of 6.58 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.