Rupee advances for third straight session; ends 3 paise higher at 85.65/$

Indian Rupee today: The domestic currency closed 3 paise higher at 85.65 against the dollar on Thursday

Indian Rupee edged higher for the third straight session on Thursday, even as US President Donald Trump kept sending tariff demand letters to additional countries.

 

The domestic currency closed 3 paise higher at 85.65 against the dollar on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. The rupee has depreciated by 0.15 per cent against the greenback in the current financial year, and has witnessed 0.03 per cent depreciation in the current calendar year.

 

The Rupee’s gain in today's session is in line with the strength seen in other Asian currencies.

 

Rupee traded flat near 85.65 as mild strength in the dollar index and weakness in the capital markets weighed on sentiment, according to Jateen Trivedi, VP research analyst - commodity and currency at LKP Securities. "After yesterday’s strong rally, some profit booking was also observed. The rupee is expected to trade within a range of 85.30 to 85.90." 

 

 

On Wednesday, Brazil was hit with a 50 per cent levy, while Trump imposed a 30 per cent tariff on Algeria, Libya, and Iraq. Sri Lanka was hit with 25 per cent duties. Trump also said the US would begin levying a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports from August 1.  

 

Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve (Fed) minutes signalled that tariff-driven inflation may not derail rate cuts. The dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.17 per cent at 97.41. 

 

Vigilance is warranted as the US Dollar Index strengthens and long-term US and Japanese bond yields surge, potentially sparking risk-off sentiment in global markets, according to Anindya Banerjee, head of currency and commodity, Kotak Securities.

 

Investors eye the US Jobless Claims data and Japan's Producer Price Inflation data. 

 

In commodities, crude oil prices fell as President Trump's tariff measures weighed on the global economic growth outlook and oil demand. Brent crude price was down 0.28 per cent at $69.99 per barrel, while WTI crude prices were lower by 0.48 per cent at 68.05, as of 3:40 PM IST.