Rupee Falls Against US Dollar: Key Factors

Mumbai, Aug 25 (PTI) The rupee pared initial gains to settle 6 paise lower at 87.58 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, tracking a strong American currency and a recovery in crude oil prices.

Forex traders said investors were cautious ahead of the implementation of the August 27 tariff deadline and the upcoming US economic data ahead of the Federal Reserve's September 17 meeting.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened on a positive note at 87.38, then touched an early high of 87.34 and an intraday low of 87.61 against the US dollar.

The domestic unit settled for the day at 87.58 (provisional), registering a decline of 6 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee fell 27 paise to close at 87.52 against the greenback.

"The rupee continues to be plagued by the US tariffs on India, thus impacting the sentiment despite other currencies rising against the dollar," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

Further, oil importers remain dollar buyers, putting pressure on the rupee.

"The rupee was also well bid after Fitch continued with the rating of BBB- for India and did not raise it, citing credit weakness, high fiscal deficit, debt service and high US tariffs as the reasons. The Indian 10-year yields have also been rising constantly," Bhansali said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.24 per cent to 97.95.

Recent dovish commentary from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which has fuelled expectations of a potential rate cut as early as next month, supported the greenback.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.41 per cent higher at USD 68.01 per barrel in futures trade.

Meanwhile, Republican leader Nikki Haley has said that India should take President Donald Trump's concerns over its procurement of Russian crude oil seriously and work with the White House to find a solution to the issue.

The Trump administration has been severely critical of India for its procurement of discounted crude oil from Russia. Interestingly, Washington has not been criticising China, the largest importer of Russian crude oil.

Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex climbed 329.06 points to settle at 81,635.91, while the Nifty surged 97.65 points to close at 24,967.75.

Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,622.52 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India's forex reserves rose by USD 1.488 billion to USD 695.106 billion during the week ended August 15, according to RBI data released on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased by USD 4.747 billion to USD 693.618 billion.