The rupee opened 17 paise higher at 70.95 against the US dollar on Thursday.
In the previous session, the domestic unit ended almost flat at 71.12 as traders awaited cues from key upcoming events like US Fed policy and India's Union Budget.
On Wednesday, rupee came under pressure against the greenback ahead of the key FOMC policy statement that was released late evening yesterday as well as ahead of the interim budget announcement scheduled tomorrow. Today, on the domestic front, market participants will be keeping an eye on the fiscal deficit number for December; better-than-expected data could extend gains for