Rupee gains 2 paise to 91.62 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee stayed firm and gained 2 paise to 91.62 against the US dollar on Friday after the US announced a 30-day waiver for Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil, easing pressure on the global energy flow amid the ongoing war in West Asia.

Forex traders said that the negative domestic equity markets and withdrawal of foreign funds resisted the rupee's upward move despite a retreating American currency.

Amid the escalating war involving the US, Israel and Iran, the American administration has announced a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday said that "this stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran's attempt to take global energy hostage".

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at its previous session's closing level of 91.64 and gained 2 paise to 91.62 against the greenback.

The Indian currency recovered 41 paise to settle at 91.64 against the dollar on Thursday after losing 97 paise in the preceding two sessions.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.37 per cent lower at 98.94.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was down 1.05 per cent at $84.51 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex lost 388.23 points or 0.49 per cent to 79,627.67, while Nifty fell 118.30 points or 0.48 per cent to 24,647.60 in early trade.

Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 3,752.52 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.