The Indian rupee appreciated in trade today by small gains of 13 paise at 71.62 against the US dollar in comparison to yesterday's record low close at 71.75 per dollar. In yesterday's trade, rupee breached 71.95 mark to hover close to 72 levels.

In the previous six trading sessions, the rupee has lost as much as 165 paise.

Surging dollar and crude oil price has squeezed dollar liquidity and exerted pressure on emerging market currencies. Any moderation in both the dollar index as well as crude oil price will provide some respite in the short term.

Rupee so far has been the worst Asian currency and has lost 12% in value since the start of the year.

The further decline in rupee in yesterday's trade has been propelled due to climbing crude oil prices which has raised concerns over impact on India's import bill as the country imports most of its oil requirements. Furthermore, pressure on Asian as well as other emerging market currencies is also adding to the woes of the rupee.

As per HDFC Bank report, the INR/USD pair in today's trade is expected to quote in the range of 71.45-71.85 per dollar today.

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