The rupee weakened early on Wednesday as hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve officials bolstered the dollar to a near 2-year high, and worries over surging domestic inflation pushed domestic stocks to extend losses for a second session. In early trade on Wednesday, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six peers, gained 0.15 per cent to 99.620, its highest level since May 2020.
According to Reuters, that pushed the rupee to weaken to 75.56 against the dollar, and the PTI reported At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened lower at 75.50 against the US dollar, then slipped to 75.58, registering a decline of 29 paise over its previous close. The rupee rose for the third straight session and climbed 24 paise to close at 75.29 against the dollar.
“The rupee is expected to weaken against the US currency tracking the dollar’s overnight gains as hawkish comments from Fed policymakers lifted the greenback,” – Sriram Iyer, the Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, told PTI.
Asian and emerging market peers were weaker against the US dollar this Wednesday morning and will weigh on sentiments, Iyer said, adding that investors will await cues from the RBI monetary policy meeting.
While crude markets have witnessed wild gyrations from the Russia-Ukraine war, oil prices have remained above $100 a barrel since Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24.
