The Rupee opened stronger on Tuesday in a narrow range near 93 per dollar, supported by the central ?bank-spurred unwinding of arbitrage positions, while lingering risks of a ?further flare-up in the Iran war are expected to cap upside. Following ?three sessions of heightened volatility - including one in which the ?rupee swung in a 3-rupee range - Monday saw relatively calmer ?trading, with the currency confined to a roughly 30-paise band. The price ?action has led bankers to believe that the rupee may have found ?a near-term equilibrium around the 93-per-dollar level, after extreme uncertainty over the fallout from the Reserve Bank of India's steps to support the currency. The rupee has managed a "respectable" recovery ?from the 95 level with RBI backing, and the market "will now ?assess how sustainable this is", a currency trader at a private sector bank said. The rupee remains vulnerable to any ?escalation in the ?conflict, which could ?push oil prices further higher. U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran could be "taken out" if it misses his Tuesday ?night deadline to reach a deal, threatening to rain "hell" ?on ?Tehran unless it agrees by 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday (midnight GMT) to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The dollar stood just shy of recent highs on Tuesday as traders counted down to a U.S.-imposed deadline for Iran to open the Persian Gulf to shipping or face attacks on its ?infrastructure. Hope for some sort of deal or breakthrough has held off further dollar buying through ?Easter, but markets are jittery and there are few big sellers of dollars ahead of U.S. ?President Donald Trumps's 8 p.m. Eastern Time (midnight GMT) deadline. The yen traded at 159.67 to ?the dollar, not far from multi-decade troughs and levels that drew intervention in 2024. The euro ?bought $1.1539 and sterling $1.3235, a little bit above multi-month lows made late in March. The Australian and New Zealand ?dollars, which tumbled as fighting ?and Iranian strikes ?on Mideast energy infrastructure intensified late in March, have nudged higher to $0.6917 and $0.5714 respectively, though trade is tentative. The South Korean won remains on the weak side of ?1,500, a level plumbed only in the wake of crises in 2009 and ?the late ?1990s. Indonesia's rupiah reached a record low on Monday, while China's yuan was steady in offshore trade . Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump heightened his rhetoric ?against Iran threatening stronger action if the country fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key global ?oil transit chokepoint. Brent crude futures rose 57 cents, or 0.5%, to $110.34 a barrel by 1202 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $1.26, or 1.1%, at $113.67.......
The US dollar weakened sharply against other major currencies after data showed that the US economy suffered a record contraction in Apr-Jun, while jobless claims rose in the week ended Saturday also rose.The US unit also extended its decline globally on Thursday after Trump raised the possibility of delaying presidential election in the US, scheduled for November.European Stocks ended lower on Thursday due to mounting concern over sluggish economic recovery and a possible second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.Germany reported its worst decline in GDP since 1970, with the Eurozone’s largest economy shrinking 10.1% quarter-on-quarter in Apr-Jun.Corporate earnings were high on investors' agenda on Thursday.In the US, Most share indices ended lower on Wednesday following bleak economic data.Lack of progress in talks between Congressional Democrats, Republicans and the White House on a new coronavirus aid package also weighed on sentiment.Gold futures settled lower on Thursday after nine consecutive days of gains, with the bullion retreating from a record rally as traders booked some profit.......