The Indian rupee little changed at 71.26 pair now at 71.1550 against
70.9750 previous close.
Pair to tip in 71.00-71.40 range today.
The Indian rupee fell to over one-week low against the dollar in early
trade amid concerns over escalation of a geopolitical conflict
between India and Pakistan. The rupee is down following news
reports that the Indian Air force crossed the line of control frontier in
Kashmir, increasing geopolitical risks. However, we spotted two
private lenders selling dollars at around 71.33-71.34 levels which
could be on the instructions of the central bank. Traders also squareoff
some of their long dollar positions in opening trade.
Global Currency
The safe-haven dollar and yen slid on Monday as risk appetite
increased after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would delay a
planned hike in tariffs on Chinese imports, suggesting trade
negotiations between the two countries have made significant
progress. The U.S. deadline set earlier for imposing higher tariffs on
Chinese goods was March 1.
The pound jumped to a near four-week peak against the dollar on
Tuesday on reports of a delayed Brexit deadline, and the safe-haven
yen moved off the weakest seen this year as a drop in U.S. equity
futures checked investors' risk appetite. Sterling spiked to its highest
against the U.S. currency.
Global Markets
Oil prices slipped on Tuesday, extending losses of more than 3
percent during the previous session, after U.S. President Donald
Trump called on OPEC to ease its efforts to boost the market. U.S.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $55.19
per barrel, down 29 cents, or 0.5 percent.
Gold prices traded flat in a tight range on Monday as investors
awaited a batch of key U.S. economic data and an appearance from
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.
