The Indian rupee opened higher against the US dollar on August 21, despite rising crude oil prices and persistent dollar demand from importers looking to hedge their foreign currency exposure.

The rupee opened higher by 5 paise at 95.66 per dollar, compared with Thursday’s close of 95.71.

According to Finrex, the rupee to open around at 95.71 per dollar and remains vulnerable to elevated oil prices, with Brent crude trading around $93.73 per barrel, while the Dollar Index rose slightly to 98.78.

Finrex expects the rupee to remain within the recent range during the day, with oil companies and importers likely to continue buying dollars, while RBI intervention through dollar sales may limit the currency's downside.

Exporters are expected to sell dollar cash deposits, potentially capping the rupee's rise near 95.80, while importers are likely to buy on dips, it added.

Asian currencies traded mostly higher against the US dollar, with the South Korean Won leading gains at 0.94%, followed by the Indonesian Rupiah at 0.518%. The Taiwan Dollar strengthened 0.232%, while the Singapore Dollar rose 0.134%, Thai Baht gained 0.113%, and the Japanese Yen edged up 0.063%. The China Renminbi also advanced marginally by 0.024%.

In contrast, the Philippines Peso declined 0.065%, while the Malaysian Ringgit slipped 0.01%.

The dollar was on shaky ground and set for a weekly loss on Friday, as investors viewed the U.S. Treasury's bond buyback gambit as merely a temporary fix, while raising fresh concerns about officials' increasingly interventionist approach.