Rupee Ends 9 Paise Lower at 92.63 Amid FII Selling, Oil Surge
Rupee slips 9 paise to 92.63 amid geopolitical uncertainty.
The Indian rupee weakened by 9 paise to close at 92.63 against the US dollar on Thursday, as geopolitical uncertainty in West Asia continued to influence investor sentiment. Forex traders noted that the situation remains fragile, particularly amid Iran’s threat to withdraw from talks if Israel continued bombing Lebanon, prompting a cautious “wait-and-watch” approach in the markets.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.63, touched an intraday low of 92.92, and reached a high of 92.53 before settling. On Wednesday, the currency had appreciated 52 paise to 92.54 following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a temporary suspension of military strikes against Iran and the Reserve Bank of India maintaining its benchmark rate.
Rising crude prices and persistent foreign capital outflows added pressure on the rupee. Brent crude futures climbed 3.08 percent to USD 97.67 per barrel, while domestic equities saw continued selling by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), marking the 23rd consecutive session of net outflows.
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Dilip Parmar, Senior Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, said, “The Indian rupee’s five-day rally came to a grinding halt, retreating in tandem with its Asian peers. Domestic equities saw relentless FII selling, maintaining steady pressure on the local rupee.” Parmar expects USD-INR to trade in a range of 92.50 to 93.40, balancing global energy risks and domestic capital movements.
In the domestic equity markets, the Sensex fell 931.25 points to 76,631.65, and the Nifty dropped 222.25 points to 23,775.10. FIIs sold equities worth Rs 2,811.97 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri concluded a three-day visit to Washington, meeting senior US officials to discuss strengthening defence and trade relations and exchanging views on developments in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia.
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