Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai

Mumbai, Jul 3: The rupee appreciated 19 paise to 95.16 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, supported by a weaker dollar index and lower crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic currency opened at 95.20 against the greenback before strengthening further to 95.16, up 19 paise from its previous close of 95.35.

Forex traders, however, said the rupee continues to face pressure from strong dollar demand by importers and corporate hedgers despite favourable global cues.

CR Forex Advisors Managing Director Amit Pabari said therupee's inability to strengthen significantly despite a weaker dollar and softer crude prices indicates underlying weakness.

"If the rupee cannot strengthen on positive global cues, any negative development could push the USD/INR pair towards the 95.80-96.00 range," he said.

Pabari added that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is focused on rebuilding its foreign exchange reserves, which have declined from a peak of USD 728.49 billion in February to around USD 672.6 billion. As a result, the central bank has limited scope to allow sharp appreciation of the rupee even when global conditions are favourable.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of six major currencies, slipped to 100.81 after recently touching a 15-month high of 101.6.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.63 per cent to USD 72.25 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the BSE Sensex surged 545.89 points to 78,048.01 in early trade, while the NSE Nifty gained 173.85 points to 24,346.90.

According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 311.82 crore on a net basis on Thursday. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have withdrawn Rs 2.7 lakh crore from Indian equities so far in 2026, exceeding the total outflow of Rs 1.66 lakh crore recorded during the entire 2025 calendar year.