CURRENCY OVERVIEW

The Rupee closed flat on Tuesday as lingering pressure on the currency was blunted by likely central bank intervention across the local spot and non-deliverable forward market. Worries about limited progress in U.S.-India trade negotiations have been a drag for the rupee since steep tariffs went into effect in late August, while importer dollar demand has also remained elevated. The rupee closed at 88.2650 against the U.S. dollar, nearly flat compared to its close at 88.2450 in the previous session. It had declined to a two-week low of 88.40 in early trading. The Reserve Bank of India likely intervened to support the rupee, five traders said, with two also pointing out that the central bank was active across the spot and NDF markets. In addition to dollar demand from local corporates, bids for the greenback related to maturity of NDF positions are also likely to be a sore spot for the rupee in the near term. The dollar index was steady on Tuesday while the onshore Chinese yuan ended its domestic trading session at the strongest level since November 2024. Investors are keeping their focus on U.S. President Donald Trump's Asia visit for signs of a breakthrough in trade talks with China as Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in South Korea on Thursday. The pound slipped versus the dollar and the euro on Tuesday as the UK's fraught fiscal backdrop was brought into stark focus again, ahead of next week's Bank of England meeting and a closely-watched budget just one month away. At 1232 GMT, the pound was 0.24% lower at $1.3298, making it the worst-performing major currency against the dollar of the day. It was also weaker against the euro, which rose 0.3% to 87.6 pence . Francesco Pesole, FX strategist at ING, said the trigger for sterling weakness was news of the Office for Budget Responsibility's plan to cut its productivity forecast by 0.3 percentage points. The pound came off a peak of $1.3787 in July but remains up 6.4% versus the dollar in 2025. The euro briefly hit its highest level against the pound since May 2023 in early trading before paring some of those gains. Oil prices fell by nearly 2% on Tuesday in a third day of declines as investors assess the effect of U.S. sanctions on Russia's two biggest oil companies along with a potential OPEC+ plan to raise output Brent crude futures were down $1.09, or 1.7%, to $64.53 a barrel at 1253 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.07, or 1.8%, at $60.24.