Rupee slumps 33 paise to 2-week low on high crude prices rate hike worries
Mumbai Jan 18 PTI Continuing its fall for the third straight session the rupee on Tuesday slumped by 33 paise to close at a two-week low of 7458 against the US dollar as a strong American currency and elevated crude oil prices continue to weigh on investor sentiments Forex traders said muted domestic equities and dollar buying by banks on behalf of importers also dragged the local unit down At the interbank foreign exchange market the local currency opened at 7436 against the American currency and witnessed an intra-day low of 7460 during the session The rupee finally settled at 7458 down 33 paise over its previous close of 7425 against the greenback The rupee had previously closed at this level on January 4 The dollar index which gauges the greenbacks strength against a basket of six currencies was trading 009 per cent up at 9534 Higher crude oil prices and risk-off sentiments following a surge in bond yields are enough for the rupee to become the worst-performing currency among Asian currencies said Dilip Parmar Research Analyst HDFC Securities Parmar added that strong dollar demands have been seen from oil importers after Brent crude oil prices started quoting above USD 87 a barrel on the back of supply worries Going ahead the pullback rally in USDINR may continue for a few more days as sentiments turn favourable Spot USDINR has crossed and sustained above the near-term hurdle of 7450 the 100 days simple average has now opened the way for 75 levels while support has been shifted to 7425 he said Meanwhile Brent crude futures the global oil benchmark jumped 099 per cent to USD 8734 per barrel On the domestic equity market front the BSE Sensex ended 55405 points or 090 per cent lower at 6075486 while the broader NSE Nifty declined 19505 points or 107 per cent to 1811305 Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 85547 crore as per exchange data The Indian rupee has come under pressure amid a rebound in the greenback from two-month lows and a relentless upside in crude oil prices wherein they have surged by close to 13 per cent since the beginning of the year Sugandha Sachdeva Vice President – Commodity and Currency Research Religare Broking Ltd Another headwind for the domestic currency is the rising trade deficit as it has widened by 3792 per cent year-on-year in December 2021 Sachdeva said More so the threat of aggressive rate increases by the US Fed looks to further weigh on the Indian rupee and we envisage the local unit to drift lower towards 7520 odd levels in coming days Sachdeva added In the last three trading sessions the rupee has lost 68 paise against the greenback The Indian Rupee depreciated against the US Dollar on Tuesday weighed down by a rise in global oil and weak domestic equities said Sriram Iyer Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities Higher oil prices will re-stoke inflation risks and concerns about high trade deficits in the country Iyer said Meanwhile most of the Asian peers ended weaker on Tuesday while most of the emerging market peers were trading weaker and weighed on the local unit PTI DRR MR MR
Mumbai Jan 18 PTI Continuing its fall for the third straight session the rupee on Tuesday slumped by 33 paise to close at a two-week low of 7458 against the US dollar as a strong American currency and elevated crude oil prices continue to weigh on investor sentiments Forex traders said muted domestic equities and dollar buying by banks on behalf of importers also dragged the local unit down At the interbank foreign exchange market the local currency opened at 7436 against the American currency and witnessed an intra-day low of 7460 during the session The rupee finally settled at 7458 down 33 paise over its previous close of 7425 against the greenback The rupee had previously closed at this level on January 4 The dollar index which gauges the greenbacks strength against a basket of six currencies was trading 009 per cent up at 9534 Higher crude oil prices and risk-off sentiments following a surge in bond yields are enough for the rupee to become the worst-performing currency among Asian currencies said Dilip Parmar Research Analyst HDFC Securities Parmar added that strong dollar demands have been seen from oil importers after Brent crude oil prices started quoting above USD 87 a barrel on the back of supply worries Going ahead the pullback rally in USDINR may continue for a few more days as sentiments turn favourable Spot USDINR has crossed and sustained above the near-term hurdle of 7450 the 100 days simple average has now opened the way for 75 levels while support has been shifted to 7425 he said Meanwhile Brent crude futures the global oil benchmark jumped 099 per cent to USD 8734 per barrel On the domestic equity market front the BSE Sensex ended 55405 points or 090 per cent lower at 6075486 while the broader NSE Nifty declined 19505 points or 107 per cent to 1811305 Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 85547 crore as per exchange data The Indian rupee has come under pressure amid a rebound in the greenback from two-month lows and a relentless upside in crude oil prices wherein they have surged by close to 13 per cent since the beginning of the year Sugandha Sachdeva Vice President – Commodity and Currency Research Religare Broking Ltd Another headwind for the domestic currency is the rising trade deficit as it has widened by 3792 per cent year-on-year in December 2021 Sachdeva said More so the threat of aggressive rate increases by the US Fed looks to further weigh on the Indian rupee and we envisage the local unit to drift lower towards 7520 odd levels in coming days Sachdeva added In the last three trading sessions the rupee has lost 68 paise against the greenback The Indian Rupee depreciated against the US Dollar on Tuesday weighed down by a rise in global oil and weak domestic equities said Sriram Iyer Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities Higher oil prices will re-stoke inflation risks and concerns about high trade deficits in the country Iyer said Meanwhile most of the Asian peers ended weaker on Tuesday while most of the emerging market peers were trading weaker and weighed on the local unit PTI DRR MR MR
