Rupee
The Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar, trading between 87.96 and 88.00 per dollar in the morning session, recovering from a recent record low of 88.36. The improved tone in the rupee came after US labor market data showed slower job growth and rising unemployment, reinforcing market expectations of an imminent Fed rate cut. As a result, the rupee tracked gains seen in other Asian currencies.
Commodities
In the commodities market, gold prices continued to climb, reaching record levels. The price of 24K gold per 10 grams surpassed Rs 71,500, driven by global economic uncertainty and falling US Treasury yields, which increased gold’s appeal as a safe-haven investment. On the other hand, Brent crude oil prices declined to $66.4 per barrel. The drop was linked to weaker US job data, which reduced concerns of inflation and diminished expectations of further aggressive rate hikes. Lower crude prices are expected to ease pressure on petrol and diesel prices in India.