Unless Donald Trump takes a major U turn, this is possibly the beginning of the end for Trumpian politics, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd). Unless President Trump takes a major U turn, this is possibly the 'beginning of the end' for Trumpian politics driven by TV trp's, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
In the past 18 months, the department of revenue intelligence has seized 50 containers of cigarettes, valued at nearly Rs 200 crore
After falling 10 per cent against the greenback in 2022, the rupee staged a comeback in 2023 as it appreciated, albeit marginally, on the back of strong portfolio inflows, in addition to timely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India. The Indian unit appreciated by 0.16 percent in six months until June 28. The rupee stood in third place in terms of appreciation against the US dollar among the 12 Asian currencies and in 12th place of the 23 emerging-market currencies.
Continued demand for the American unit from importers and the greenback's persistent gains against other Asian currencies put pressure on the rupee
United States President Donald Trump on Sunday warned of new and significantly higher tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijing does not withdraw a recent 34 per cent retaliatory tariff hike, threatening to end all ongoing talks with China.
The rupee depreciated 40 paise to an all-time low of 81.93 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday as the strengthening of the American currency and risk-averse sentiment among investors weighed on the local unit. Moreover, a negative trend in domestic equities and significant foreign fund outflows sapped investor appetite, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 81.90 against the greenback, then fell to 81.93, registering a fall of 40 paise over its previous closing.
Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) reported a 25 per cent rise in net profit attributable to the owners of the company for the January-March quarter of 2024-25, owing to higher revenues and an exceptional gain. For the quarter under review, L&T posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,497.3 crore, while revenue rose 10.9 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 74,392.28 crore.
Unless something changes, Mr Trump is a huge threat right now, which is perhaps not being recognised fully, cautions Debashis Basu.
Gold prices slumped for the second straight session by Rs 1,150 to Rs 78,350 per 10 grams in the national capital on Monday on frantic selling by stockists and retailers, the All India Sarafa Association said. The precious metal of 99.9 per cent purity closed at Rs 79,500 per 10 grams on Friday.
Dealers attributed the fall in the rupee on Tuesday to dollar's gains against other currencies overseas, but a higher opening in the domestic equity market capped the fall.
The rupee plunged 20 paise to close at an all-time low of 78.13 against the US dollar on Monday, as a lacklustre trend in domestic equities and stronger greenback overseas weighed on investor sentiments. Forex traders said weak Asian currencies and persistent foreign capital outflows were the other major factors that dragged the local unit down. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 78.20 and witnessed an intra-day high of 78.02 and a low of 78.29 against the US dollar.
'Entering India is exciting, but it's also challenging. You have to be prepared for long-term investment.'
Dealers said besides increased demand for the American currency from importers, the dollar's strength against other Asian currencies overseas, put pressure on the local unit.
Forex dealers said besides fresh demand from importers for the American unit, a lower opening in the domestic equity market as well as decline in industrial production growth to 4-month low of 0.5 per cent in July, put pressure on the rupee.
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Rupee ends flat after hitting 9-1/2 month low.
The partially convertible rupee closed at 60.30/31 per dollar compared with 60.28/29 on Friday.
Most Asian currency and equity markets too suffered steep losses due to US rate hike fears.
Reliance Industries Ltd, the nation's most valuable company, on Thursday said it has raised $4 billion (around Rs 30,000 crore) in debt through the largest ever foreign currency bond issuance by an Indian entity. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate plans to use the proceeds of the three tranche issues to retire existing borrowings. The issue was "nearly 3 times oversubscribed with a peak order book aggregating around $11.5 billion," the company said in a statement. This is the largest ever foreign currency bond transaction in India, eclipsing ONGC Videsh Ltd's $2.2 billion US dollar bonds issue of 2014.
Traders expect the rupee to remain wedged between the 59.60 and 60.50 levels in the absence of any key triggers in the near-term.
Most Asian currencies are on a slide on worries about the withdrawal of US stimulus.
The rupee had plunged 65 paise in its biggest single-day drop in over six months to end at 61.49 in Wednesday's trade against the greenback, hit by spike in dollar demand and negative cues from local stocks.
In New York Market, the US dollar rose against the Australian dollar on Tuesday as gold futures dropped more than two per cent and investors anticipated Chinese data that is likely to show a slowing of growth.
Higher discounts on crude oil offered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to wean India away from Russian crude may soon see Indian refiners ramping up purchases from the Gulf nation, officials at multiple refiners said. They also pointed to the recent agreement on trade settlement in national currencies signed between India and the UAE as a reason for this. "While discussions are underway, the UAE has offered discounts on crude, which will be more than that of the current level of Russian discounts.
In New York, the US currency fell against the Australian dollar and British pound on Monday as investors continued to weigh the potential weather drag on recent economic data, and whether or not it could sway monetary policy.
Forex dealers said besides dollar's gains against other currencies, increased demand for the American unit from importers put pressure on the rupee, but a higher opening in the domestic equity market limited the losses.
The results are likely to please the Indian government, which has been trying to impress on domestic and foreign investors about its efforts to improve the ease of doing business.
Traders also say oil-related dollar demand is capping broader gains in the rupee.
The rupee closed at 60.76/77 on Tuesday.
Dollar's strength against other currencies overseas capped the rupee's gain
A stable dollar will at minimum reduce incremental cross-currency pain for Indian cos.
India is expected to be the top recipient of remittances in 2023 as inflows increase 12.4 per cent to $125 billion, said a World Bank report on Tuesday. Mexico will come next by receiving $67 billion and China will follow it at $50 billion. The key drivers for remittance growth in 2023 are a tight labour market in the United States, high employment growth in Europe reflecting extensive leveraging of worker retention programs, and a dampening of inflation in high-income countries. India's growth in remittances is expected to halve to 12.4 per cent in 2023 from a historic peak of 24.4 per cent in 2022.
Anjalika Bardalai, senior economist and editor at Economist Intelligence Unit says fiscal deficit is the biggest downside risk to India's growth story.
Indian rupee is likely to test 76-76.50 levels as a relatively strong greenback, boiling crude prices and COVID headwinds deepen the depreciation bias for the domestic currency, according to experts. One of the significantly-hit Asian currency in recent months amid uncertain economic times, rupee is expected to see a consolidation in the vicinity of the current level before being pulled towards the depreciation bias. While the equity market has been surging with occasional blips, the rupee has mostly been weak against the US dollar in recent months.
The domestic currency had lost 63 paise to close at over four-month low of 61.18 against the dollar in Friday's trade on weakness in global stock markets and a strong US currency overseas.
Dealers said increased demand for dollar from importers mainly put pressure on the local unit but a higher opening in the domestic equity market and gains in other currencies overseas against the dollar capped the losses.
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up by 0.31 per cent at 97.52.
Asia's falling stocks have triggered an exodus of funds from the region.
The rupee closed at 60.31/32 on Thursday.
The rupee's gains came even as most emerging Asian currencies eased as the yuan fell beyond 6.20 to the dollar for the first time since April last year amid market speculation that the central bank will keep the currency weak as economic growth slows.
