New Delhi, May 15 (IANS): The Indian rupee breached the 96-mark against the US dollar on Friday, continuing its slide amid persistent global pressures, rising crude oil prices, and ongoing geopolitical tensions linked to the Iran conflict. The domestic currency opened at 95.86 in the interbank foreign exchange market and slipped to 95.94 during early trade, after having touched an all-time low of 95.96 in the previous session. Pressure on the rupee intensified further after oil marketing companies raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre with immediate effect, adding to concerns over India’s already strained import bill from surging energy costs. Experts noted that the rupee has remained under pressure in recent weeks and has emerged as one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia, while market sentiment remained fragile following talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that failed to deliver significant progress on key geopolitical flashpoints, particularly on the US-Iran front.
Despite the pressure on the rupee, domestic equity markets showed resilience, with the BSE Sensex rising 0.62 per cent or 471.64 points during intraday trade while the Nifty 50 gained 0.63 per cent or 150 points to touch 23,839.30. On the commodities front, international benchmark Brent crude surged 3.46 per cent to $109.38 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 4 per cent to $105.24 per barrel, reflecting the deepening supply concerns linked to the West Asia crisis. A senior official noted that the marginal Rs 3 per litre increase in fuel prices remains significantly lower than the losses currently being absorbed by public sector oil companies due to global crude prices having crossed the $100-per-barrel mark, underscoring the scale of financial stress facing India’s state-run energy sector.