Indian rupee rose marginally against the US dollar on Wednesday, adding nearly 9 paise in the opening trade, but gains are likely to be limited ahead of the much expected Federal Reserve rate hike and higher crude oil prices.

Share Market Live

NSE

At 09:15 AM, the rupee was trading at 72.60 a dollar, up 9 paise, from its Tuesday’s close of 72.69. The home currency opened at 72.74 and touched a high and a low of 72.59 and 72.85 a dollar, respectively.

The rupee is the worst performing emerging market currency having lost almost 14 percent since January this year. Between April and September the rupee has plummeted more than 7 to the dollar and has breached the psychological 73 mark last week.

Investors await details from the two-day Federal Reserve meeting that began on Tuesday, with the US central bank expected to raise benchmark interest rates and shed light on the path for future rate hikes.

Higher US interest rates boosts dollar prospects and pressure emerging market currencies.

The rupee could come under mounting pressure in coming days as a strong crude oil market is hurting India’s macroeconomic stability, which could in turn spur flight of capital, according to market experts.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds dropped 0.21 percent to 8.11 percent after closing at 8.13 percent on Tuesday. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Have you signed up for Primo, our daily newsletter? It has all the stories and data on the market, business, economy and tech that you need to know.