Rupee weakens on US Treasury Secretary's tariff comments; ends at 87.07/$

Indian Rupee today: The domestic currency closed 12 lower at 87.07 against the dollar on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg

The Indian Rupee recovered early losses but ended weaker on Wednesday amid cautious comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and higher crude oil prices. 

 

The domestic currency closed 12 lower at 87.07 against the dollar on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. During the previous session, it rose to the 86.92 level but pared some gains at the end. 

 

The US Treasury warned of possible secondary tariffs and said that the richest families in India benefited from Russian crude oil purchases.

 

The unit has slipped 1.9 per cent in the current financial year and 1.71 per cent in 2025 so far. In August, it gained around 0.5 per cent against the dollar. 

 

The dollar index rising and fresh warnings of possible US tariffs on Indian imports of Russian oil, along with geopolitical tensions involving China, made the rupee open weaker during the session, according to Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP. 

 

The gain in the currency in the last two sessions was fuelled by the Centre's proposal to ease the complex GST system into two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent, with a 40 per cent bracket reserved for sin goods. S&P Global's upgrade of India's sovereign credit rating also aided the sentiment.  

Technically, the rupee continues to face strong resistance near 86.80 levels, while immediate support lies in the 87.60–87.80 zone, suggesting a range-bound bias until fresh triggers emerge, Jateen Trivedi, VP research analyst - commodity and currency at LKP Securities, said. 

 

Global sentiment is cautious ahead of the release of the FOMC minutes later today, with investor attention gradually shifting to the US Fed Chair’s speech at Jackson Hole this weekend, analysts said

   

The dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.02 per cent at 98.26.

 

In commodities, crude oil prices rose slightly amid rising optimism about a potential Russia-Ukraine truce. Brent crude price was up 0.91 per cent at 66.39 per barrel, while WTI crude prices were higher by 1.04 per cent at 63.00 per barrel, as of 3:35 PM IST.