Rupee opens 28 paise up at 73.97 against dollar

The rupee on Wednesday opened 28 paise higher at 73.97 against the US dollar following softening crude oil prices in the international market.

On the other hand, the US dollar saw some strengthening as investors sought the most liquid currency as concerns about economic shutdowns from the coronavirus continued to dent risk appetite, in another tense journey fuelled of growth concerns and governments taking measures to palliate the crisis.

The US Federal Reserve announced plans to re-launch the Commercial Paper Funding Facility that was used during the 2007-2009 financial crisis to inject liquidity into the markets.


Federal Reserve tried to ease disruptions in the financial markets stemming from the coronavirus by announcing that it will sharply increase its purchases of short-term Treasury bonds. The Fed said it's making available at least $2 trillion in short-term lending as a way to ensure that the Treasury bond market can function smoothly.

It's also broadening its ongoing $60 billion a month purchases of Treasury’s to include longer-term bonds. The action follows signs of stress in the bond market. In coronavirus updates, The German March ZEW Survey showed that Economic Sentiment collapsed to -49.5 in the Union, and -49.5 in Germany. The assessment of the current situation in the country came in at -43.1, all of them much worse than anticipated.

Meanwhile, US Industrial Production in February increased by 0.6 per cent while Capacity Utilization increases by less than expected to 77 per cent.