India rupee to benefit from dollar retreat, plunging US yields; oil surge tempers impact

Business Recorder reported that the Indian rupee could open Friday steady or slightly firmer against the dollar, after ending Thursday at 95.26 per dollar. A weaker US dollar and falling Treasury yields provide a supportive backdrop, but the currency trader cited in the report expects the benefit to be restrained. The two-year US yield dropped 8 basis points to a seven-week low, while the 10-year yield reached 4.90%, 46 basis points below its recent high.

The dollar index eased to 101.70 even as investors sought safer assets amid renewed concerns about artificial intelligence investments and disappointing technology-company earnings. Oil presents a counterweight: Brent crude reached $117.84 a barrel amid worries about supply disruption following stepped-up Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The report says higher oil costs could outweigh the relief from lower US yields, leaving the Reserve Bank of India’s market intervention important to rupee support.