The Indian Rupee opened lower on Thursday for the fourth straight session amid escalating US-China trade tensions. The Indian currency opened at Rs 69.88 against the US dollar today’s morning. Yesterday, it settled at Rs 69.71, down by 28 paise from the last settlement.
Yesterday, the rupee depreciated on account of weakness in the domestic equities and US-China trade worries. According to experts, the rupee may continue to remain under pressure due to recovery in the dollar index.
“Spot INR is likely to trade within the range of 69.60-70.05 with an upward bias. The uncertainty in global and local markets due to rising US-China trade war tensions is likely to keep the rupee under pressure,” Amit Sajeja, Associate Vice President, Motilal Oswal, told Financial Express Online.
The world’s largest economy, US will raise tariffs on Chinese imports of $200 billion to 25 percent from 10 percent beginning this Friday, according to a notification onFederal Register on Wednesday. According to the notice, the US Trade Representative’s office will establish a process to request exclusion of particular products from additional tariffs.
The US said as China backtracked on its commitments made in the trade deal, the latter will face the stiff tariffs if no agreement is reached. Beijing said it will respond in kind if US imposes tariffs from this Friday. A Chinese delegation headed by Vice Premier Liu He is also slated to hold two-day talks with the US officials today in Washington.
Today, the Indian headline indices Sensex and Nifty opened lower in view of global uncertainties. While the Sensex is trading at 37,602.87 level, down 186.26 points from the last close, Nifty was last seen at 11,306.20 mark, lower by 53.25 points from the previous settlement.