MUMBAI: The rupee strengthened by 13 paise to 95.63 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, supported by positive momentum in domestic equity markets and inflows of foreign capital.
However, the Indian currency's gain was capped by a strong dollar index after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.59 and lost some ground to 95.63 against the greenback, registering a gain of 13 paise from its previous close.
The rupee gained 6 paise to settle at 95.76 against the US dollar on Wednesday. The currency settled 17 paise higher at 95.82 against the US dollar on Tuesday, after gaining 74 paise in the previous two back-to-back sessions.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading up 0.06 per cent at 101.79.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading 1.26 per cent lower at USD 89.60 per barrel.
According to analysts, crude prices reclaimed USD 90-per-barrel levels amid renewed fear of disruptions in global energy supplies, as fresh flare-ups between the US and Iran, after a brief calm for three days, shattered hopes of ending the five-month conflict in West Asia.
The US military said on Thursday that they have struck "dozens" of targets belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps in "a heavy wave of strikes against Iran" conducted in response to an earlier Iranian missile attack on a US base in Jordan.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex rose 44.77 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 77,699.37, while the Nifty was up 21.65 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 24,270.20.
Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 2,981.87 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
