Rupee surges 7 paise to 77.49 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, May 20 (PTI) The rupee appreciated 7 paise to 77.49 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday as crude oil prices retreated from the elevated levels.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 77.51 against the American dollar, then gained further ground to quote at 77.49, registering a rise of 7 paise from the last close.

On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 77.56 against the US dollar.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.71 per cent to USD 111.24 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.29 per cent higher at 103.02.

According to Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, the rupee opened stronger against the US dollar on Friday supported by an overall fall in the greenback and easing bond yields.

"Asian and emerging market peers have started weaker and could cap strength. However, crude prices have eased and could aid sentiments," Iyer said.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 1,025.44 points or 1.94 per cent higher at 53,817.67, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 315.55 points or 2 per cent to 16,124.95.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,899.92 crore, as per stock exchange data.