Rupee weakens against US dollar on heightened tensions in middle-east

08 Jan 2020 Evaluate

Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar on Wednesday as domestic equity markets opened on the back foot amid heightened tensions in Middle East after Iran fired a series of missiles at an Iraqi airbase that hosts American troops. The attacks followed the US killing of Iran's top military commander in Baghdad, General Qasem Soleimani on last Friday and triggered concerns of a broader conflict in the region. Rupee fell further by data showing India's GDP growth has been projected to slump to an 11-year low of 5% in the current fiscal, mainly due to poor showing by manufacturing and construction sectors. Moreover, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 682.23 crore in the Indian equity market on Tuesday, exchange data showed. On the global front, the US dollar gave up some of its gains overnight following the release of better than expected non manufacturing data. ISM nonmanufacturing data for December showed a reading of 55, beating forecasts of 54.5.

The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 72.03, weaker by 21 paise from its previous close of 71.82 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 72.0550 and 71.9750 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 72.09 and for Euro stood at 80.45 on January 6, 2020. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 66.74, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 94.28.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×