The Rupee closed strong on Tuesday, supported by the unwinding of residual arbitrage positions, while traders braced ?for a U.S. deadline to reach a deal with Iran and ?the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision. The currency has found its footing ?after hitting a series of record lows over the past month, helped ?largely by the RBI's measures to curb arbitrage and speculative activity ?in the domestic foreign exchange market. The unwinding of arbitrage positions, however, has ?widened the gap between onshore and non-deliverable forwards, with the spread between 1-month ?tenors rising to the highest level since the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted global markets. The rupee lately came under pressure from the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Concerns over ?the conflict have kept oil prices near $110 per barrel, and ?driven foreign ?investors out of Indian stocks. Foreign investors have net sold nearly $16 billion of domestic equities over March and April so far. Traders also await the RBI's policy decision on ?Wednesday. The ?central bank is widely expected to keep rates unchanged, with ?focus on its readiness to support the rupee and inject liquidity to keep bond yields in check. Sterling edged higher on Tuesday but remained near early-March levels against the euro and close to a more than four-month low versus ?the dollar. Britain is highly exposed to energy imports and investors remain nervous ?about the country's fragile public finances. The greenback edged lower as traders kept a close watch on a U.S.-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping or ?risk attacks on its infrastructure. Sterling was last up 0.30% at $1.3278. It ?hit $1.316 last week, its lowest since November 26. The pound rose 0.1% ?to 87.14 pence against the euro on Tuesday. It was at 87.60 before ?the beginning of the war in Iran. Oil prices climbed on Tuesday and U.S. crude was on track ?for its highest close since 2022 ahead of a deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face ?attacks on power plants and other infrastructure. Brent futures rose 63 cents, or 0.6%, to $110.40 a barrel at 10:41 a.m. EDT (1441 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $3.95, or 3.5%, to $116.36.......
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