The rupee appreciated by 6 paise to 93.27 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Thursday (April 16, 2026), driven by retreating crude oil prices and a weakening American currency, amid hopes of a truce in West Asia.

According to forex analysts, crude oil prices hovering below the $95-a-barrel level sent positive cues to investors in domestic equities, even though the outflow of foreign capital and demands for dollars from importers resisted a sharp recovery in the rupee.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 93.29 and gained further, trading at 93.27 against the greenback in early deals, up 6 paise from its previous closing level.

On Wednesday (April 15), the rupee gained 2 paise to settle at 93.33 against the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was lower by 0.12% at 97.72.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading marginally up by 0.02% at $94.95 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex gained 529.55 points or 0.68% to 78,640.79 in early trade, while the Nifty rose 156.50 points or 0.65% to 24,387.80.

Foreign Institutional Investors were net sellers on Wednesday (April 15) and offloaded equities worth ₹666.15 crore, according to exchange data.

Government data released on Wednesday (April 15) showed that the Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation rose sharply to an over 3-year high of 3.88% in March, driven by a sharp spike in rates of fuel, power and manufactured items amid the West Asia crisis.

Consumer price index-based retail inflation rose 3.4% in March compared to 3.21% in the preceding month, mainly due to an uptick in certain food items, data released earlier this week showed.