Rupee began Monday in red, slipping 20 paise to 95.95 against the US dollar in early trade. The decline came as a strengthening greenback, continued foreign fund outflows and elevated crude oil prices added pressure on the domestic currency amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.The currency began the session at 95.89 against the US dollar at the interbank foreign exchange market and subsequently weakened to 95.95. This followed a 24-paise gain on Friday, when rupee settled at 95.75.The rise in crude prices added to the pressure on the currency. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, climbed 2.31 per cent to $106.81 per barrel in futures trade.“Despite the Brent oil for November series being higher due to US President Donald Trump rejecting the peace proposal from Iran, the rupee is set to open at around 95.80 and is expected to remain in the range of 95.50 to 96.00 with the RBI continuing to hold the 96.00 of the range,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, told PTI.Bhansali said that Brent remained firmly elevated above the $100 mark, continuing to pose an underlying threat to India’s import bill and foreign exchange reserves.The dollar also strengthened during the session. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was at 101.11, marking a 0.15 per cent rise.The currency market weakness coincided with a sharp sell-off at the Dalal Street. BES Sensex fell over 900 points or 1.17% in early trade, while NSE Nifty declined 231.50 points to 22,908.95.Foreign investors have also continued to pull money out of Indian equities. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,693.93 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.India’s foreign exchange reserves recorded a sizeable decline in the latest week as well. RBI data released on Friday showed that reserves fell $14.881 billion to $765.901 billion in the week ended September 18. The decline was attributed to a fall in foreign currency assets.
