Rupee reverses early gains; ends 12 paise lower at 87.66/$

Indian Rupee today: The domestic currency closed 12 paise lower at 87.66 against the dollar on Monday, according to Bloomberg

Indian Rupee gave up early gains to end lower on Monday, even amid a dip in the dollar index and crude oil prices.  

 

The domestic currency closed 12 paise lower at 87.66 against the dollar on Monday, according to Bloomberg. The currency opened 34 paise higher at 87.20, tracking gains in the Asian currencies. 

 

All eyes will be on RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) begins its meeting today, August 4, to decide on key interest rates. The RBI is likely to remain status quo as per a Business Standard poll, with all analysts expecting a further reduction in the 2025-26 (FY26) inflation forecast.  

 

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According to a Business Standard poll, the rupee is expected to trade with heightened volatility, with a majority of the respondents seeing the local currency’s target level near 88 per dollar, and support level near 86.50 per dollar, by September 2025. 

 

Weighed down by foreign outflows, the currency depreciated by 2.14 per cent in July, the highest monthly fall since September 2023. The rupee fell 1.2 per cent last week, marking its biggest weekly drop since December 2022.

 

Meanwhile, responding to US President Donald Trump's 25 per cent tariff, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to buy locally made goods to help cushion the economy. India also remained firm on its Russia ties with a broad consensus on avoiding retaliation and resorting to negotiations.

 

The dollar index, the measure of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.3 per cent at 98.84. 

 

In commodities, crude oil prices fell after Opec+ hiked production again in September, proposing to add 547,000 barrels a day next month. Brent crude price was down 1.02 per cent at 68.96 per barrel, while WTI crude prices were lower by 1.26 per cent at 66.48, as of 3:40 PM IST.