Rupee ahead of the announcement of the crucial Union Budget 2019 opened a tad lower at 68.56 with a change of 0.09% or down 0.065 versus its previous close of 68.50.

On Thursday rupee edged higher and ended with gains of 39 paise at 68.50 per US dollar as there was seen a firm trend in emerging market currencies and lower crude oil prices.

Oil prices have been hovering down due to global economic growth outlook. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 1.1% at $56.71 per barrel by 0042 GMT.

Meanwhile, in the pre-opening session, stock indices gained, with Sensex trading higher at 39976.74, with a gain of 68.68 (+0.17%) and Nifty firm by 0.20% at 11971.00

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