MUMBAI: The rupee rose 20 paise to 95.41 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as Brent crude oil prices and the US dollar index retreated from their elevated levels after a pause in US-Iran hostilities.
Forex traders said the rupee opened on a positive note after Israel and Iran agreed to deescalate and ease strikes.
At the interbank foreign exchange market the rupee opened at 95.47, then touched 95.41, registering a gain of 20 paise from its previous close.
On Monday, the rupee depreciated 43 paise to settle at 95.61 against the American currency.
The rupee is likely to trade a 95.40-95.80 range with weakening bias, IFA Global said in a research note.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.98, down 0.06 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.99 per cent at USD 93.32 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex climbed 350.57 points to 73,874.83, while the Nifty was up 114.50 points to 23,237.50.
In global developments, Israel and Iran agreed to deescalate and ease strikes. US President Donald Trump spoke with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. However, Iran has warned that it will retaliate if Israeli bombing continues.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 5,555.67 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India recorded a current account surplus of USD 7.1 billion, or 0.7 per cent of GDP, in the January-March quarter of 2025-26, helped by services exports and higher remittances, according to Reserve Bank data released on Monday.
The surplus was USD 13.7 billion or 1.4 per cent of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2024-25.
However, for the entire fiscal 2025-26, the current account deficit stood at USD 25.2 billion or 0.6 per cent of GDP compared to USD 22.9 billion or 0.6 per cent of GDP in 2024-25.
