New Delhi: The Indian rupee plummeted to a fresh historic low on Monday morning, touching 96.25 against the US dollar during early trading sessions. This sharp depreciation is primarily driven by escalating global uncertainties, a robust greenback, and surging international crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic currency commenced the day at 96.19 per dollar before weakening further by 44 paise relative to its previous close. This consecutive slide follows Friday’s session, where the currency breached the 96 mark during intraday trading before settling at a then-record closing low of 95.81 against the American currency.
Market analysts note that emerging market currencies are enduring significant headwinds due to a combination of geopolitical frictions and macroeconomic pressures. Persistent tensions in the Middle East, particularly involving Iran, have strengthened the greenback and dampened investor sentiment for riskier assets. Reflecting this trend, the dollar index, which gauges the strength of the US currency against a basket of six major counterparts, edged upward to trade at 99.32. Concurrently, global energy markets remain highly volatile, with Brent crude oil futures climbing 1.83 per cent to reach USD 111.26 per barrel.
In response to these widening economic pressures and to safeguard foreign exchange reserves, the central government has initiated regulatory interventions. Following a recent hike in customs duties on precious metals, authorities have now placed silver imports under a restricted, licensed category. This strategic shift aims to closely monitor and regulate incoming shipments to help stabilize the current account deficit as the local currency navigates a challenging global environment.
