Rupee rises 15 paise to 68.92 vs USD in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated by 15 paise to 68.92 against the US dollar in opening trade Friday, driven by positive opening in domestic equities and easing crude oil prices.

The rupee opened strong at 69 at the interbank forex market then gained further ground to touch 68.92 per dollar, displaying gains of 15 paise against the greenback.

Rupee is trading in a narrow range as forex traders took a cautious approach ahead of the G20 Summit, which is taking place amidst ongoing US-China trade tiff and rising tensions in the Middle East, say experts.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 69.07 against the US dollar.

Foreign funds pulled out Rs 0.71 crore from the capital markets on a net basis Thursday, provisional data showed.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading with gains of 42.13 points, or 0.11 per cent to quote at 39,628.54 while the NSE Nifty was trading at 11 up 17 points, or 0.14 per cent.

Meanwhile, brent crude, the global benchmark, was trading at 66.24 per barrel lower by 0.47 per cent.