Rupee plunges 23 paise to 95.96 against US dollar

The rupee weakened by 23 paise to settle at 95.96 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, dragged by a surge in crude oil prices and a strong greenback amid geopolitical uncertainties. According to forex traders, the domestic currency was also weighed down by heavy selling in domestic equity markets as investors moved toward risk aversion, adding strength to the dollar, even as rising inflation concerns pushed US bond yields higher.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.84 and touched the intraday low of 95.98 against the American currency. The unit finally ended the session at 95.96 (provisional) against the greenback, down by 23 paise from its previous closing level. The rupee closed 11 paise lower at 95.73 against the US dollar on Wednesday, a day after appreciating by 16 paise.

Aamir Makda, Commodity & Currency Analyst at Commodity Technical Research, Choice Broking, said the rupee dropped sharply, compounding recent losses under pressure from surging Brent crude oil prices and a robust US dollar, which gained momentum as expectations for further Fed rate hikes mounted.

“In the US, surprisingly resilient purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data reignited inflationary fears, while weak demand at a five-year Treasury debt auction drove yields significantly higher — the 10-year yield surged over 15 basis points from Tuesday’s settlement, while the five-year yield crossed 5 per cent for the first time since 2007,” Makda said, adding, “The immediate resistance rests at the psychological 96.00 threshold, where a clean breakout could trigger accelerated depreciation for the rupee, while immediate downside support sits around 95.43. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, traded at 100.99, up 0.18 per cent.”

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading sharply higher by 2.74 per cent at $105.90 per barrel compared to the roughly $72 per barrel level from late February before the Iran war.

Analysts said that oil prices that began stabilising in the last few sessions climbed again past $100 a barrel due to a lack of diplomatic progress over the West Asia peace efforts after the US and Iranian officials met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

President Donald Trump, during an address to the annual gathering on Tuesday, threatened that the US might “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal couldn’t be made. A day later, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian, in his defiant speech at the UN, said that his people have been “victims of terrorism” by the US.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tanked 1,247.71 points, or 1.67 per cent, to settle at 73,580.54, while the Nifty plunged 383.70 points, or 1.64 per cent, to 23,063.10.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 1,617.45 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.