Currencies

While rupee has managed to hold its ground against the dollar in 2025, it has fared far worse against other major currencies The steep fall in the US dollar due to the trade and other administrative changes announced by the new US government has helped most emerging market currencies appreciate in 2025. But the performance of the rupee against the dollar has been much more subdued when compared with its EM peers.The rupee recorded sharp decline in February and March 2025 to move close to the 88-mark against the greenback....

The Reserve Bank of India sold a record $398.71 billion of foreign currency in 2024-25 on a gross basis as the Indian central bank stepped up its defence of the rupee amid a volatile global environment. The RBI’s sale of foreign currency in the spot market in the last financial year was sharply higher than the $153.03 billion it had sold in 2023-24 and the previous record of $212.57 billion in 2022-23, data released late Wednesday by the central bank showed. To be sure, the RBI also bought foreign currency...

Bets that currency deals will form part of trade negotiations with the US have helped lift a string of Asian currencies against the dollar, as traders look for signs that countries will offer to scale back intervention to appease President Donald Trump.The Korean won, Japanese yen and Taiwan dollar have rallied strongly in recent weeks, making them Asia’s top-performing currencies this year, in the expectation that talks on lowering sweeping US trade tariffs will touch on how countries manage their dollar exchange rates. “It is quite likely that the market...

Asian currencies edged higher on Thursday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar as investor concerns grew over mounting U.S. debt and fiscal instability. The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.1%, marking its fourth consecutive day of losses, as markets turned cautious ahead of a crucial House vote on President Donald Trump’s new tax cut proposal. The proposed legislation aims to extend the 2017 tax cuts and introduce additional tax breaks. However, critics warn that it could add between $3 trillion and $5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade,...

SEOUL – The South Korean won climbed to a seven-month high late on May 21 after local media reported the direction of the currency was discussed during trade talks with the US. The currency rallied after newspaper Korea Economic Daily cited an unnamed government official as saying the US believes a relatively weak won is a fundamental cause of the Asian nation’s trade surplus. The talks are ongoing and nothing has been decided yet, Korea’s finance ministry said in a statement.The won advanced as much as almost 2 per cent...

SINGAPORE – Malaysia’s ringgit stands to gain the most among its South-east Asian peers if the nation’s exporters convert their overseas earnings to the local currency, thanks to the nation’s outsized foreign-currency deposits.Such deposits in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia combined have jumped to US$62.2 billion (S$80.53 billion) as of March, close to a record high set in the previous month, according to Bloomberg calculations. Malaysia made up almost all of it and the nation’s foreign deposit growth also outpaced most of its peers.Foreign deposits in the region are...

Asian shares fell and Treasuries continued their slide at the open Thursday following losses in Wall Street on concerns about the US’s ballooning deficit.A regional stock gauge dropped for the first time in three days on weaker openings in Australia, Japan and South Korea. The dollar edged down for a fourth consecutive session. US equity-index futures were steady after the S&P 500 index closed down 1.6% on Wednesday, its sharpest slide in a month. Treasuries fell across the curve Wednesday with long-term debt bearing the brunt as the 30-year yield...

Exchange Binance revealed the integration of Brazil’s PIX system with its cryptocurrency platform, allowing users to make payments in the local currency (BRL) using digital assets, such as Bitcoin, in real time. According to local media outlet E Investidor, this means that people and businesses all over Brazil can be paid by Binance users through PIX, the national instant payment system.With this integration, those with a Binance account can convert their crypto balance into BRL in an instant, practically facilitating instantaneous transactions.This is a significant step towards integrating traditional financial and...

May 21, 2025 10:33 PM IST Bitcoin hit a record high on Wednesday, driven by a wave of optimism over cryptocurrency legislation in the United States. Bitcoin hit a record high on Wednesday, driven by a wave of optimism over cryptocurrency legislation in the United States. How to Buy Bitcoin (BTC) in India in 2025 The world's most popular cryptocurrency surged to an all-time peak of $109,499.76, surpassing its previous high set on January 20 when Donald Trump was sworn in as US president. Bitcoin gained after US policymakers showed...

Bitcoin hit a record high Wednesday morning, hitting $109,422. Pro-crypto policies and tariff chaos have boosted bitcoin's appeal in recent months.Companies like GameStop and Tesla invest in bitcoin to hedge against inflation.Bitcoin hit a record high on Wednesday, jumping as much as 2.4% to $109,499.76. It's the first record for the world's largest cryptocurrency since January, when the token climbed above $109,200. The latest surge is being driven by a burst of enthusiasm on recent regulatory developments. On Monday, a landmark crypto bill moved ahead in Congress, with proposed legislation...