Indian rupee slumps as dollar gains on tariff jitters

The Indian rupee and other regional currencies weakened on Tuesday due to comments on trade tariffs by US President Donald Trump, which boosted the dollar following a selloff in US technology stocks.

The rupee ended the day at 86.5225 against the dollar, marking a 0.2 per cent decrease, its largest one-day percentage decline since Jan. 16.

Most Asian currencies weakened, with the offshore Chinese yuan falling 0.4 per cent to 7.28, while the dollar index increased 0.1 per cent to 107.9.

The dollar rose following reports that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is advocating for a gradual increase in universal tariffs on US imports, starting at 2.5 per cent and increasing by the same amount monthly.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: Y.Yasser