Rupee weakens against US dollar in early trade on Monday
The Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar in early trade on Monday as crude oil prices surged above 4%, following a weekend of intense US strikes on Iran, claims from Iran that the Strait of Hormuz is closed to traffic once again, and Iranian strikes on five US allies in the region. Market participants are closely monitoring the Reserve Bank of India's response, expecting the central bank to continue supporting the currency through dollar sales as higher oil prices threaten to fuel inflation. Besides, renewed concerns over India's trade balance are also putting the rupee under pressure. The focus this week will also be on consumer inflation readings from both India and the United States, due on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Meanwhile, Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,603.72 crore on a net basis on Friday, exchange data showed. The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said the country's forex reserves jumped $7.26 billion to $674.193 billion during the week ended July 3.
The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 95.78, weaker by 40 paise from its previous close of 95.38 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 95.7850 and 95.66 respectively.
