Mumbai, February 26 The rupee rose by 6 paise to 90.85 against the US dollar in the early trade on Thursday, supported by a weaker dollar and inflows from foreign investors.
A positive start to the trading session in the domestic equity markets further boosted the local currency, while rising global crude oil prices, coupled with geopolitical uncertainties, limited the gains, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.86 against the dollar before rising to 90.85, up by 6 paise from its previous close.
The rupee remained within a range and closed with a gain of 4 paise at 90.91 against the US dollar on Wednesday.
"As the dollar index declined and Asian currencies strengthened today (Thursday), the rupee opened higher... The positive sentiment in the market and the RBI's selling near the 91.00 level ensured that the rupee could not cross 91.00 levels yesterday (Wednesday), as foreign investors were buying equities and selling dollars," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six currencies, was down by 0.13 per cent at 97.57.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose by 0.21 per cent to USD 71.00 per barrel in futures trading.
In the domestic equity market, the Sensex rose by 303 points to 82,579.16 in the early trade, while the Nifty rose by 85.1 points to 25,567.60.
On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 2,991.64 crore, according to exchange data.
