UAE: Indian rupee nearly hits all-time low as oil prices climb

The Indian rupee dipped 6 paise to 83.45 against the US dollar (22.74 against UAE dirham) early on Friday, nearing its all-time low as crude oil prices extended their rise on heightened geopolitical tensions and potential supply risks.

The South Asian currency hit a record low of 83.4550 on Thursday.

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Brent crude oil futures rose above $90 per barrel for the first time since October on Thursday and were last up 0.4 per cent at $90.98, following reports of growing tensions between Israel and Iran.

Geopolitical tensions have spurred some risk-off sentiment globally which may hurt the rupee, a foreign exchange trader at a private bank said.

The dollar index was slightly higher at 104.32 and Asian currencies declined, with the Korean won down 0.4 per cent and leading losses.

The Indian rupee may fall below the 83.50 (22.75 against UAE dirham ) mark today "if the RBI doesn't intervene or if it does mild intervention as it has been over the last few days," the trader added.

Investors has been keeping an eye on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy decision.

The central bank is widely expected to keep rates unchanged, for a seventh consecutive meeting, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

"We maintain our call for the (RBI) rate cut cycle to start at the tail end of 2024, with a cautious central bank's tone to be rupee-supportive in the near term," DBS Bank said in a note.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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