Rupee opens 28 paise up at 87.25/USD on easing dollar index

The local currency opened at 87.25 against the US dollar, as compared to 87.53 against the greenback at previous close.

Indian rupee opened 28 paise up on August 4 on easing dollar index and uptick in Asian currencies, currency experts said.

The local currency opened at 87.25 against the US dollar, as compared to 87.53 against the greenback at previous close.

"The fall in dollar index and rise in Asian currencies has prompted Indian rupee to open higher. Exporters are expected to sell the upticks while importers may buy to serve the cash dollars while waiting for hedging," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six major currencies, fell to 98.746 in early morning trade from over 99 levels in the last week.

According to the Bloomberg data, Asian currencies rose, with Thai Bhat up 1.07 percent over last week's closing, Philippine Peso up 0.92 percent, and Malaysian Ringgit up by 0.87 percent.

Further, currency experts said that the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy will be in focus this week.

Moneycontrol's poll of 17 economists, bank treasury heads and fund managers showed that The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to maintain status quo on interest rates in the upcoming review on August 6. This is because a pause will allow the RBI to assess incoming data on the impact of monsoons on inflation, and the impact of past rate cuts on the growth trajectory, experts said.