Mumbai, Jul 26 (PTI) The rupee depreciated 7 paise to 81.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, tracking elevated level of the American currency against major rivals overseas as well as higher crude price.

Crude oil prices hovering above USD 83 per barrel and cautious move by investors ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later in the day weighed on the domestic unit, even as robust sentiment in the domestic market capped the fall, forex traders said.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Horror: Wild Cat Takes Away Sleeping Baby Boy, Throws Him From Rooftop in Budaun.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.89. It touched the peak of 81.87 and hit the lowest level of 81.96 before trading at 81.95 against the greenback, registering a fall of 7 paise from its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 81.88 against the dollar.

Also Read | Parliament Monsoon Session 2023, Day 5: No-Confidence Motion by INDIA Parties Against Modi Government Likely to Persist ‘Logjam’.

"After achieving the 81.75 objective, downsides eased, allowing a pull back. If early dips are held above 81.82, expect upswings today to aim for 82-82.15. We will wait for push below 81.5 to play strong downsides," Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said in his USD-INR outlook.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell marginally by 0.01 per cent to 101.34.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 83.28 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 317.49 points or 0.48 per cent higher at 66,673.20. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 79.20 points or 0.40 per cent to 19,759.80.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they bought shares worth Rs 1,088.76 crore, according to exchange data.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)