The rupee on Wednesday had depreciated by 25 paise to close at 70.46 against US dollar.Mumbai:The rupee on Thursday appreciated by 4 paise to 70.32 against US dollar in early trade amid weakness in American currency on uncertainty over Federal Reserve rate hikes following release of Fed meet minutes.
Forex traders said weakness in US dollar against other currencies overseas, falling crude oil prices and fresh foreign fund inflows pushed rupee higher.
The minutes of US Fed's latest policy meeting showed policymakers may slow pace of rate hikes to prevent a slowdown in economy.
At Interbank Foreign Exchange, rupee opened weak at Rs 70.49, but soon appreciated to 70.32 against greenback, up 14 paise over its previous closing price.
The rupee on Wednesday had depreciated by 25 paise to close at 70.46 against US dollar.
Brent crude, global benchmark, was trading lower at 60.89 per barrel, lower by 0.90 per cent.
Meanwhile, foreign funds bought shares worth Rs 276.14 crore from capital markets on a net basis, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 439.67 crore on Wednesday, provisional data showed.
The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading down 27.62 points, or 0.08 per cent at 36,185.29, while NSE Nifty was trading at 10, 839.65, down 15.50 points, or 0.14 per cent.