Rupee rises 19 paise to 85.29 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee strengthened by 19 paise to 85.29 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday on the back of lower crude oil prices and sustained foreign fund inflows.

Forex traders said a firm greenback and volatile stock markets capped the rupee's gain even as market participants stayed cautious ahead of the release of domestic GDP data.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.35 and gained further to trade at 85.29 against the greenback in initial deals, registering a rise of 19 paise from its previous close.

The rupee ended 10 paise lower at 85.48 against the dollar on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.16 per cent at 99.36.

Analysts said the dollar's recovery after the US federal court's ruling against President Donald Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs proved short-lived as a federal appeals court put a temporary stay on the ruling.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.48 per cent to USD 63.84 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 35.68 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 81,597.34, while the Nifty was unchanged at 24,833.70.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 884.03 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.

The Reserve Bank, in its latest annual report on Thursday, said the country is poised to remain the fastest-growing major economy in the world even in FY26.