Rupee drops 9 paise to hit lifetime low of 79.90 against US dollar
Mumbai(PTI): The rupee declined by 9 paise to settle at a new record low of 79.90 against the US currency on Thursday due to a firm US dollar in overseas markets and capital outflows.
A decline in crude oil prices in the international markets, however, restricted the rupee losses, forex dealers said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened strong at 79.72 and witnessed an intra-day high of 79.71 and a low of 79.92 against the US dollar in the day trade.
The local unit finally settled at 79.90 a dollar, down 9 paise over its previous close.
The rupee pared its early gains as the US dollar continued to gain against a basket of leading global currencies in early European trade. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.37 per cent up at 108.36.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, dropped 2.20 per cent to USD 97.38 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 98 points or 0.18 per cent lower at 53,416.15, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 28.00 points or 0.18 per cent to 15,938.65.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,839.52 crore, as per exchange data.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
