CURRENCY OVERVIEW

The Indian rupee opens stronger with firmer footing on Tuesday following a slide in crude oil prices, though dollar strength and technical barriers are expected to contain the magnitude of the currency's advance. Brent crude plummeted 11% on Monday, after talks between Iranian and Qatari officials raised hopes of a resolution to the US-Israeli war with Iran and a stabilisation of crude supplies from the Middle East. An initial drop drop ?held in Asia trading with Brent at $104.70. High oil prices have been a persistent source of pressure on the rupee, with the impact extending well beyond a higher import bill. With India importing about 90% of its requirement, higher prices worsen the country's macroeconomic outlook, raise corporate currency hedging demand and weigh on foreign portfolio flows. While the rupee is likely to perform well at ?the open, the 94.50-94.70 range presents a significant zone for technical resistance. Weakness across Asian currencies is another factor that could limit the rupee's advance beyond the initial lift. Oil-sensitive ?regional peers, including the Indonesian rupiah and Philippine peso, remained under pressure, suggesting investors were reluctant to buy Asian currencies amid AI-related risk aversion. The dollar was on the defensive on Tuesday in markets cautious about US-Iran tension ahead of ‌midterm elections, while the Aussie dipped after the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked rates as expected. Also contributing to dollar strength, China's offshore yuan was on track for its biggest single-day decline since May, after weakening as much as 0.34% to 6.67 per dollar. The euro was steady at $1.1182 as the dollar ticked higher. The Japanese yen fetched 157.92 per dollar, also largely flat during a domestic holiday. Sterling was largely steady at $1.3401. The latest PMI data showed British manufacturers started the ?final quarter of 2026 with the strongest output growth in more than two years. China is raising the amount of foreign currency that financial institutions must ‌hold as reserves, in one of the strongest moves to slow the pace of a long rally in the yuan, setting the currency on course for its sharpest one-day drop in six months. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement on Tuesday it would raise the foreign exchange reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 2 percentage points to 6% from 4%, effective on November 15. The yuan has gained more than 5% against the dollar so far this year, reaching its strongest level since 2022 and becoming one of ‌Asia's best-performing ?currencies. Its strength has been underpinned by robust exports, big trade surpluses and heavy corporate FX conversion. However, market participants do not expect the move to reverse the yuan's upward trend. More recently with Oil prices, Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Tuesday after a report that the United States had struck Iran's Qeshm Island, raising concerns about an escalation of the eight-month conflict and prolonged disruptions to Middle East oil ‌supplies. Brent crude futures rose 48 cents, or 0.5%, to $105.25 a barrel by 0104 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 47 cents, or 0.5%, at $96.93 a barrel. The Gold prices ticked lower on Tuesday, after surging more ‌than 2% in the previous session on a drop in oil prices that eased inflation concerns, while investors awaited the outcome of US Midterm elections later in the day. Spot gold fell 0.5% to $3,926.52 per ounce by 0353 GMT. Prices climbed over 2% to $3,954.41 per ounce in the previous session, rebounding from a one-year low it ?hit on Friday.United States struck Irans Qeshm Island, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials. US gold futures for December delivery dropped 0.8% to $3,936.30. Market participants now await the US midterm elections later today and their potential impact on broader market sentiment. Among other metals, spot silver slipped 1.8% to $49.71 per ounce, platinum dropped 0.2% to $1,446.80 and palladium dipped 1.4% to $953.64.