US tariffs' scare push rupee to record low, RBI steps in to cap losses

Trump said he will introduce new 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the US

The Indian rupee dropped to its lifetime low on Monday as the risk of fresh US trade tariffs spurred losses in most regional currencies, with the Reserve Bank of India likely stepping in to support the local unit, traders said. 

The rupee declined to 87.95 per US dollar in early trading, falling past its previous record low of 87.5825 hit last week. The currency was last quoted at 87.9325, down 0.6 per cent on the day. 

State-run banks were spotted selling dollars before the local spot market opened, most likely on behalf of the RBI, traders said.

The rupee seemed on track to open around the 88 handle but the dollar selling intervention helped the currency hold above the psychologically important level. 

Trump on Sunday said he will introduce new 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the US, along with reciprocal tariffs on all countries this week to match the rates levied by each country. 

The dollar index was higher at 108.3, while Asian currencies declined by 0.1 per cent to 0.6 per cent.  (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)