Indian rupee, the domestic currency appreciated by 19 paise to 73.12 per US dollar on Thursday's opening trade, supported by sustained foreign fund inflows, positive domestic equities and weakness of the American currency in the overseas market.
The domestic unit opened at 73.15 against the US dollar at the interbank forex market, and inched higher to 73.12 against the greenback.
Supported by positive domestic equities and unabated foreign fund inflows, the rupee appreciated by 11 paise to close at more than two-month high of 73.31 against the US dollar.
The dollar index fell 0.04 per cent to 89 against a basket of six currencies.
Abhishek Goenka Founder and CEO IFA Global said,"Asian currencies are stronger against the USD. The Yuan is the strongest since mid-2018. China Manufacturing PMI came in line with estimates. The Dollar index continues to slide lower and is at the lowest level since April 2018."
Meanwhile, India's current account surplus moderated to USD 15.5 billion or 2.4 per cent of the GDP in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal, the RBI said on Wednesday. The current account surplus in April-June quarter was, USD 19.2 billion.
On the domestic equity market front, market indices gained for seventh straight session on Thursday, the expiry day for F&O segment, amid mixed global equities. In a volatile trade, Sensex was trading higher by 100 points to 47,848 and Nifty traded 26 points higher at 14,008. Today, Sensex hit a lifetime high of 47,865 and Nifty touched 14,010 for the first time.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,824.52 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 587.43 crore in the Indian equity market on 30 December, provisional data showed.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.49 per cent to USD 51.34 per barrel. Oil price remained steady as US covid-19 aid package, weak dollar and fall in oil inventories.