- Indian Rupee (INR) rises after 3 days of gains
- Oil prices rise to a multi-year low
- US Dollar (USD) falls against its major peers
- Trump doubles Canadian steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%
The US dollar-to-Indian rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate fell after three days of gains. The pair rose 0.29% in the previous session, settling on Monday at 87.35. At 16:00 UTC USD/INR trades -0.1% lower at 87.27 and is in a range of 87.14 to 87.47.
The Rupee strengthened on Tuesday boosted by likely interventions from the Reserve Bank of India and a rise in Asian currencies, as the USD weakened.
Indian indices closed almost unchanged as losses in Induslnd Bank and IT stocks offset gains in other companies.
Meanwhile, oil prices rebounded on Tuesday, recovering from sharp losses on Monday. However, gains could be limited given the deteriorating demand outlook in the US and expectations of OPEC+ increasing output in April. US API oil inventory data is due later, and the OPEC+ monthly report is expected tomorrow. It comes as oil prices recover from multi-year lows.
India imports 80% of its oil requirements, so lower oil prices are beneficial.
The US Dollar is falling across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, is falling 0.63% on Tuesday, extending losses to a five-month low.
The dollar is falling further after Trump announced that he would increase trades tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium.
Trump said in an online post that the planned 25% tariff rate on Canadian steel and aluminium would be 50%, as Trump responded to retaliatory tariffs from Canada.
The dollar sell-off comes as the markets fret over the impact of Trump’s trade tariffs. Business and consumer confidence are falling, and spending is slowing, which could hurt economic growth.
Tomorrow’s attention will be on inflation data, which is expected to show that inflation cooled to 2.9% year over year in February. Hotter-than-expected inflation could raise fears surrounding the economic outlook and pull the USD lower.
