Rupee gains 13 paise against dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee firmed by 13 paise to 66.53 against the dollar in early trade on Thursday on increased selling of the greenback by exporters and banks.

Forex dealers said weakness in the dollar against some other currencies overseas, after the US Federal Reserve reaffirmed the outlook for more rate hikes this year, supported the rupee.

The Fed kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.5 per cent to 1.75 per cent last night, but noted that inflation was nearing its 2 per cent target rate after years of remaining undesirably low.

The US central bank is gradually tightening credit to control inflation against the backdrop of a tight job market, a resilient economy and a pickup in consumer prices.

The rupee on Wednesday virtually ended steady at 66.66 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 80.89 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 35,257.31 in opening trade on Thursday.