Rupee falls past 94 mark for fourth day as oil surge, West Asia tensions weigh

The rupee weakened for the fourth straight session, breaching the 94 mark against the US dollar amid rising crude oil prices, foreign investor outflows, and geopolitical tensions in West Asia, with uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz further pressuring markets.

Mumbai: The rupee extended its losing streak for the fourth straight session, sliding past the 94 level for the second time in a month and trading 34 paise lower at 94.12 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, as crude oil prices surged amid a lack of progress in West Asia peace talks.

The currency also remained under pressure due to massive selling of domestic equities and the withdrawal of foreign investors amid rising worldwide demand for the American currency, forex traders said.

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At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.04 and lost further ground to trade at 94.12 against the greenback in early deals, registering a loss of 34 paise from the previous closing level.

The rupee declined 34 paise to close at 93.78 against the US dollar on Wednesday, the third straight day of fall. In the preceding two sessions, the currency has fallen by 53 paise.

Facing geopolitical headwinds triggered by the war in West Asia, the domestic currency breached the crucial 94-a-dollar level for the first time on March 23 and recorded its lowest-ever intra-day level of 95.22 on March 30. The currency recovered since then, following a slew of measures from the Reserve Bank of India.

It ended the previous week at 92.91 against the greenback on April 17 before giving in to the pressure again due to renewed tensions in West Asia and uncertainties over the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the key route for global fuel supply.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was 0.12 per cent higher at 98.53.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.37 per cent higher at USD 103.31 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity markets the 30-share Sensex was trading 632.36 points or 0.81 per cent down at 77,884.13 in early trade, while the Nifty declined 179.10 points or 0.73 per cent to 24,198.90.

Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth about Rs 2,078.36 crore on Wednesday, according to the exchange data.

In a latest development, President Donald Trump has said that the US has extended the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely, as a new round of peace talks was on hold.

According to Iranian state media, Tehran acknowledged the ceasefire extension but didn’t say it was ready to attend a new round of talks to end the war.