New Delhi: The rupee appreciated 12 paise to 94.72 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, buoyed by sliding crude oil prices and inflows of foreign funds into domestic equities.
However, a strong US dollar ahead of the crucial midterm election in the US kept investors worldwide cautious, capping gains in the Indian currency, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.68 and strengthened to 94.60 before trading at 94.72 against the greenback, registering a gain of 12 paise from its previous close.
The Indian currency fell 8 paise to close at 94.84 against the US dollar on Monday, after appreciating 50 paise in the preceding session on Friday.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, traded at 101.65, up 0.03 percent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.01 percent at USD 104.76 per barrel in futures trade.
Analysts attributed the easing of crude prices to fresh talks between Iranian and Qatari officials, which raised hopes of a resolution to the West Asia war and stabilisation of global energy supplies.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex surged 551.77 points or 0.73 percent to 76,244.55 in early trade, while Nifty climbed 129.60 points or 0.55 percent to 23,570.40.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net buyers for the second consecutive day on Monday and purchased equities worth Rs 3,114.68 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.
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