Ketaan Ram Kataria
Patna: The Indian rupee fell by 19 paise to 85.15 against the US currency in early trade, its highest level in the year so far. This fall was led by fresh geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, which saw more demand for the US currency.
Forex investors blamed the rupee’s weakness on risk-off sentiment due to the growing tension in Kashmir. But the currency’s downside was supported by foreign fund inflows and a drop in crude oil prices. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, dropped 1.11% to $63.54 per barrel in futures trade.
The Nifty jumped 51.30 points, or 0.21%, to 24,387.25, while the BSE Sensex increased 165.90 points, or 0.21%, to 80,454.28. Exchange data indicates that a net amount of Rs 2,385.61 crore was spent on stocks by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) on Tuesday.
In the face of escalating tensions, the US has called on India and Pakistan to refrain from taking the conflict further. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is to address the issue with the foreign ministers of both nations.
While this, India and the US are looking at the possibility of an interim trade deal in goods, targeting an “early mutual win” before negotiating the first phase of the proposed bilateral trade pact by fall this year. The commerce ministry said both nations have begun sectoral-level negotiations with further engagements scheduled from late May.
The dollar index, which compares the value of the US dollar to a basket of six other currencies, increased by 0.11% to 99.34.
