The rupee was trading in a narrow range in morning trade on Tuesday as the bullishness of positive domestic equities and weak American dollar was negated by firm crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 81.96 against the dollar. It touched an early low of 82.09 in initial deals.

The rupee on Monday settled at 81.99 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 102.35, down 0.22 per cent.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 0.64 per cent to USD 84.72 per barrel.

The rupee has been floating well between a tight range of 81.80-82.20 awaiting to set the tone post the US and domestic CPI release, said CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari.

All eyes are on the release of inflation data in India and the US, along with the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, which will now become crucial in determining the market trend.

"The undertone of the market seems to remain positive on the expectation of a healthy Q4 earning season. Also, NTPC set to raise Rs 3,000 crores via bond issue could invite some foreign bids and extend short-lived gains to the rupee," Pabari said.

On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 277.59 points or 0.46 per cent higher at 60,124.10, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 85.90 points or 0.49 per cent to 17,709.95.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Monday as they purchased shares worth Rs 882.52 crore, as per exchange data.

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