Rupee Slips 28 Paise to 71.88 against USD in Early Trade amid Rising Demand for Dollar after Saudi Oil Attacks

Agencies
September 17, 2019

Mumbai, Sept 17: The rupee opened on a cautious note and fell 28 paise to 71.88 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday amid rising demand for the US dollar vis-a-vis other currencies overseas.

Forex traders said the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities have enthused demand for safe heaven assets like the US dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.01 per cent to 98.61.

The Indian rupee on Monday had plunged by 68 paise to 71.60 against the US dollar amid concerns over soaring crude prices following drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened at 71.83 then fell to 71.88 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 28 paise over its previous closing.

The Indian rupee on Monday had closed at 71.60 against the US dollar.

Forex traders said weak opening in domestic equities and unabated foreign fund outflows also weighed on the domestic currency.

Domestic bourses opened on a negative note on Tuesday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 137.87 points down at 36,985.44 and Nifty lower by 38.85 points at 10,964.65.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who were net buyers for the past few sessions, offloaded shares worth Rs 751.26 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

"The recent attack on Saudi Arabia's largest oil processing plant has sent oil prices shooting up. If production is not resumed soon, such a rise could hurt the global economy as consumer costs will also go up. This will definitely affect India, where the economy is already stressed," said Pushkar Mukewar, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Drip Capital, a US & India based trade finance firm.

Mukewar further said that the rupee is likely to remain volatile.

Crude oil benchmark, Brent Futures, surged by almost 20 per cent to USD 71.95 per barrel (intra-day) on Monday after twin drone attacks on Saturday wiped out more than half of Saudi Arabia's crude supply.

However, Brent Futures on Tuesday saw some moderation and was trading at USD 68.35 per barrel, down 0.97 per cent over the previous close.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.71 per cent in morning trade.

Meanwhile on the global front, a Chinese vice finance minister will visit the United States on Wednesday to lay the groundwork for trade talks next month.

The official Xinhua news agency said vice finance minister Liao Min will lead a delegation visiting the United States on Wednesday to "pave the way" for the higher level talks.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Moody's Investors Service downgrading India's sovereign rating to the lowest investment rate and said that the global rating agency has rated his handling of the country's economy "a step above junk".

"Moody's has rated Modi's handling of India's economy a step above JUNK. Lack of support to the poor and the MSME sector means the worst is yet to come," the Congress leader tweeted citing a media report on Moody's downgrading the nation.

On Monday, Moody's downgraded the country's rating to "Baa3" from "Baa2". This comes at a time when the government is facing criticism from the Opposition over its handling of the COVID-19 situation and measures to boost the economy.

The government has already announced a stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crore to deal with the situation.

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News Network
July 16,2020

New Delhi, Jul 16: The Rajasthan High Court will hear Thursday afternoon a petition filed on behalf of the Sachin Pilot camp, challenging a move to disqualify dissident MLAs from the state assembly.

The plea against the disqualification notices sent from the Speaker’s office to Pilot and 18 other Congress MLAs will be heard by Justice Satish Chandra Sharma.

The 19 MLAs were sent notices Tuesday by the Speaker after the Congress complained that the MLAs had defied a party whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings. 

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News Network
January 27,2020

Jehanabad, Jan 27: The police here carried out a raid at the ancestral house of anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam, who has been slapped with a sedition case in the national capital for alleged inflammatory speeches he gave at Shaheen Bagh and the Jamia Milia Islamia, a senior official said on Monday.

According to Superintendent of Police, Jehanabad, Manish Kumar, Imams house in Kako police station area was raided late on Sunday night following "help sought by central agencies" which are investigating the cases lodged against the JNU research scholar.

Imam was not found at his house but two of his relatives and their driver were detained for interrogation and let off thereafter, the SP said.

A graduate in computer science from IIT-Mumbai, Sharjeel Imam had shifted to Delhi for pursuing research at the Centre for Historical Studies, JNU.

He was slapped with a sedition case after his alleged speeches went viral on the social media wherein he was heard speaking about Assam's possible secession from the country in the wake of the Citienship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

Earlier, he had been booked on similar charges at a police station in Aligarh for a speech he delivered on the AMU campus.

Besides, a case under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA has been registered against him at Assam.

Imams late father Akbar Imam was a local JD(U) leader who had unsuccessfully contested an assembly election in his lifetime.

Reacting to the developments, his distraught mother Afshan Rahim told the media, "My son is innocent. He is a bright young man and not a thief or a pickpocket. I swear in the name of God that I do not know about his whereabouts. But I can guarantee that upon learning about the cases, he will appear before the investigating agencies and fully cooperate in the probe."

She said that it has been a long time since she met her son though she had a telephonic conversation with him a few weeks ago.

"He was obviously disturbed by the CAA and fears of the National Register of Citiznes (NRC) about being implemented across the country which, he said, would affect not just Muslims but all poor people," she said.

In fact, after 15 days of Shaheen Bagh protest, he had asked the agitators there to withdraw and watch the situation for a month, and then decide on the further course of action, she said. "But they refused to relent. He was calling for a 'chakkajam' (road blockade). He is just a kid and not capable of instigating people for secession," she added.

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