Rupee drops to 96.9 against US dollar, hits record low for 9th-day straight; details here

The USD/INR data showed that the Indian currency has continued its downward trend for 9 days straight against the US dollar since its trading levels on May 7, dropping to a new record low of 96.9 on Wednesday.

As of 10:24 am, the Indian rupee was trading 0.11% weaker at 96.81 against the US dollar on Wednesday, May 20, compared to 96.70 at the previous currency market close, according to Investing.com data.

The rupee was also witnessing pressure as traders tend to pull out money from emerging market currencies and equity bets to shift their investment into haven assets like the US dollar, gold, and government treasuries.

With India importing nearly 80% of its crude oil needs from foreign nations, including the Gulf countries, the rising crude oil prices in the global market have further weighed down the sentiment of the investors.

Investing.com data also suggests that the global benchmark Brent crude oil prices were trading 0.25% lower at $110.70 per barrel (bbl) in the morning market session on Wednesday, compared to $110.98 per bbl at the previous market close.

US dollar impact

Data collected from the Bloomberg US dollar spot index (DYX) showed that the greenback was trading 0.05% higher at 99.372 as of 12:59 am (ET) in the United States on Wednesday, compared to the previous currency market close.

The US dollar was witnessing high demand due to the increased uncertainty related to the West Asia conflict.

Latest media reports showed that even though US President Donald Trump called off a military attack on Iran on early Tuesday, renewed fears of a fresh US military strike on Iran by early next week loomed over global market investors, despite an existing ceasefire deal.

According to a CNN report, Trump is willing to wait until later this week to see the progress on the negotiations or any peace deal with Iran; if not, then he is set to launch a ‘large-scale’ combat operation in Iran.