Rupee slips 6ps to 91.70/$

Mumbai: The rupee stayed range-bound throughout the session on Friday and ended 6paise lower at 91.70 against the US dollar, resisting pressure from inflated crude oil prices and suspected RBI intervention. According to forex experts, heavy selling in domestic equities and withdrawal of foreign funds further dragged the rupee down.

However, they said the depreciation was capped following the US administration’s decision to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil for 30 days, a move to ease pressure on global energy flows amid the ongoing war in West Asia.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday said, “This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage”. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at its previous session’s closing level of 91.64 against the greenback and moved in a narrow range between an intra-day high of 91.54 and a low of 91.78 during the session.

At the end, the rupee settled at 91.70 against the US dollar, losing 6paise from its previous closing level. The Indian currency recovered 41paise to settle at 91.64 against the dollar on Thursday after losing 97paise in the preceding two sessions.

According to analysts, several factors, including shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, triggered by the war involving the US, Iran and Israel, have added pressure to the Indian currency.