Rupee falls 7 paise to 95.40 against US dollar in early trade
Forex traders say investor sentiment remains fragile
The Indian rupee slipped 7 paise to 95.40 against the US dollar in early trading on Thursday, driven by higher crude oil prices and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. Forex traders noted that investor confidence is still tenuous as the conflict between the US and Iran persists. Iran has threatened to keep the Strait of Hormuz blocked until 2029, while US President stated that the strait is under US control.
The rupee opened at 95.40 at the interbank foreign exchange market, a decline of 7 paise from its last close. On Wednesday, the rupee closed at 95.33 against the US currency. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six currencies, was at 100.01. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 1.22% to $87.89 per barrel in futures trade.
Despite oil prices hovering close to $88 a barrel, the rupee began trading at 95.40 on Thursday, after climbing to 95.25 the previous day, according to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been steadily supporting the rupee at 95.41-95.45, even as oil demand pushed it lower, Bhansali explained.
On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors sold equities amounting to ₹1,002.50 crore in a net deal. On the domestic front, the Sensex fell 152.97 points to 77,813.38, while the Nifty slipped 84.80 points to 24,351.15.
Written by urgent.news from Hindu BusinessLine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
