Rupee Watch: Rupee weakens for sixth straight session as oil prices surge — TradingView News
The Indian rupee opened weaker against the dollar on May 15, extending losses for a sixth straight session amid rising crude oil prices, firm US bond yields and broad weakness across Asian currencies.
At 9:05 am, the rupee was trading at 95.87 against the dollar, down 0.1 percent from its previous close of 95.77.
Earlier, the government raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre in an effort to curb fuel demand after earlier tightening measures targeting precious metal imports.
Oil prices remained elevated as the Strait of Hormuz continued to remain effectively closed, keeping global energy markets on edge. Brent crude rose to trade near $107 a barrel and was up around 6 percent for the week, while West Texas Intermediate crude traded above $102 a barrel.
President Donald Trump said he did not need the Strait of Hormuz open, according to a Fox News interview following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Market participants said persistent geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions are likely to keep pressure on currencies and inflation expectations globally. Federal Reserve officials also continued to flag inflation risks after stronger-than-expected US inflation data over the last two days. Robust economic data from the US kept the 10-year Treasury yield elevated near 4.52 percent.
Asian currencies broadly traded lower. The South Korean won declined 0.4 percent, the Malaysian ringgit fell 0.35 percent and the Indonesian rupiah weakened 0.26 percent. The Thai baht declined 0.21 percent, while the Chinese offshore yuan, Singapore dollar and Japanese yen also traded lower. Among gainers, the Taiwan dollar rose 0.13 percent.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.1 percent and was up 0.9 percent for the week.
