Indian rupee extends winning streak as dollar, oil ease and stocks rally

Business Recorder reported that the Indian rupee gained for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday, closing 0.1% firmer at 95.0550 per dollar. The currency has climbed 2% this week, having approached record lows a week earlier. Support came from a softer greenback, cheaper crude and a rally in local equities, with a likely central bank intervention also cited.

Brent crude slipped after possible moves by Washington to loosen restrictions on Russian shadow fleet tankers, although supply concerns persisted because of the Middle East and Ukraine-Russia conflicts. Indian equities stood apart in the region by climbing about 2%, while benchmark indexes from South Korea to Japan lost between 2% and 8% over concerns about AI-related debt funding. ING said investors would be tracking debt issued by large AI borrowers, and further selling could pressure the dollar.

The dollar index pulled back from an 18-month high as Treasury yields dropped sharply and reduced expectations of a Federal Reserve rate increase this month. Dollar-rupee forward premiums climbed to multi-year peaks after fresh foreign exchange restrictions from the central bank drained liquidity, several bankers said. India has spent about half of the over $140 billion mobilised through special steps earlier this year, according to economists and FX traders. September's merchandise trade deficit of $30.21 billion came in close to the $30.4 billion economists had expected.