Early trading sees the rupee up 12 paisas to 81.96 versus the US dollar

Early Friday trading saw the rupee rise 12 paise to 81.96 versus the US dollar as investor sentiments were boosted by a solid start to local equities markets and a lower US currency relative to key international competitors.

The advances in the native currency were nonetheless restrained by rising petroleum prices on foreign markets, according to FX brokers.

The local unit at the interbank foreign exchange started off well against the dollar at 81.97 before gaining additional steam to 81.96, up 12 paise from its previous finish.

In the early transaction, the local currency was fluctuating only between 81.92 and 81.97 versus the US dollar.

The rupee’s value versus the dollar had been fixed at 82.08 on Thursday during the previous session.

The dollar index, which measures how strong the dollar is relative to a basket of six other currencies, decreased 0.19 percent to 99.26.

The benchmark for world oil, Brent crude futures, up 0.11 percent to USD 81.45 a barrel.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 164.96 points, or 0.25 percent, to 65,723.85 on the domestic equities market. The NSE Nifty index as a whole increased by 56.15 points, or 0.29 percent, to 19,469.90.

According to exchange statistics, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday by purchasing shares worth Rs 2,237.93 crore.