The rupee depreciated 5 paise to settle at 75.71 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, as market participants were concerned about rising tensions between the US and China amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Forex traders said the rupee was trading in a narrow range as positive domestic equities, rising optimism about a potential coronavirus vaccine and a revival of business activities were offset by a flare-up in US-China tensions.
Moreover, strengthening of the American currency overseas also weighed on the domestic unit.
At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened strong at 75.72 and gained marginal ground to finally close at 75.71, down 5 paise over its last close.
It had settled at 75.66 against the US dollar on Tuesday.
During the session, the local unit witnessed an intra-day high of 75.57 and a low of 75.74.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.17 per cent to 99.08.
“Rupee is trading in a very tight range, and not breaking the psychological level of 76. There is some optimism in the forex market over coronavirus vaccine and foreign inflows pertaining to the Bharti Airtel Telecom stake sale, Kotak Mahindra Bank QIP or Reliance Jio, but it its getting offset by the escalating US-China trade tensions.
“US President Donald Trump has already said that he is preparing against China over his efforts to impose national security on Hong Kong. The global growth is already in doldrums due to COVID-19, worsening relations between these two nations will further hobble growth,” said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.
Thank you for being a loyal user of Portfolio.
Portfolio will be a paid section hereon.
Please Subscribe to get access to one of our early bird packs.
Or click on Free Trial to get 14 days free trial.
What You'll Get
-
Web + Mobile
Access exclusive content of the Hindu Businessline across desktops, tablet and mobile device.
-
Exclusive Portfolio and Investment Advice, Banking, Lifestyle and Specials
Get diverse set of perspectives from our trusted experts on Portfolio, Banking, Economy, Environment and others.
-
Ad free experience
Experience cleaner site with zero ads and faster load times.
-
Personalised dashboard
Customize your preference and get a personalized recommendation of stories based on your interest.
Published on
May 27, 2020
A letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
The coronavirus crisis has changed the world completely in the last few months. All of us have been locked into our homes, economic activity has come to a near standstill. Everyone has been impacted.
Including your favourite business and financial newspaper. Our printing and distribution chains have been severely disrupted across the country, leaving readers without access to newspapers. Newspaper delivery agents have also been unable to service their customers because of multiple restrictions.
In these difficult times, we, at BusinessLine have been working continuously every day so that you are informed about all the developments – whether on the pandemic, on policy responses, or the impact on the world of business and finance. Our team has been working round the clock to keep track of developments so that you – the reader – gets accurate information and actionable insights so that you can protect your jobs, businesses, finances and investments.
We are trying our best to ensure the newspaper reaches your hands every day. We have also ensured that even if your paper is not delivered, you can access BusinessLine in the e-paper format – just as it appears in print. Our website and apps too, are updated every minute, so that you can access the information you want anywhere, anytime.
But all this comes at a heavy cost. As you are aware, the lockdowns have wiped out almost all our entire revenue stream. Sustaining our quality journalism has become extremely challenging. That we have managed so far is thanks to your support. I thank all our subscribers – print and digital – for your support.
I appeal to all or readers to help us navigate these challenging times and help sustain one of the truly independent and credible voices in the world of Indian journalism. Doing so is easy. You can help us enormously simply by subscribing to our digital or e-paper editions. We offer several affordable subscription plans for our website, which includes Portfolio, our investment advisory section that offers rich investment advice from our highly qualified, in-house Research Bureau, the only such team in the Indian newspaper industry.
A little help from you can make a huge difference to the cause of quality journalism!
Support Quality Journalism