Indian Rupee falls on spike in crude oil prices

Indian rupee weakened against US dollar on Monday, weighed down by weak domestic equities. The rupee fell further on spike in crude oil prices, followed by rising concerns over US-Iran tensions.

On Sunday, the US President, Donald Trump, vowed ‘major retaliation’ if Iran tries to avenge the killing of its key military commander, Qasem Soleimani.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 1263.05 crore in the Indian equity market on January 3, exchange data showed.

On the global front, the US dollar and the Japanese yen were little changed on Monday after recording gains earlier in the day on heightened Middle East tensions.

The partially convertible currency is trading at 72.01 at present, that is, weaker by 21 paise from its previous close of 71.80 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 72.11 and 72.01, respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 71.69 and for Euro stood at 80.05 on January 3, 2020. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 66.32, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) was 93.98.