Rupee Pauses Decline After RBI FX Intervention

The Indian rupee hovered around 95.5 per dollar, pausing losses as traders pointed to likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India through dollar sales to temper volatility. The currency remained under pressure, however, amid renewed geopolitical tensions after fresh US military strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain fueled concerns over oil supplies. Brent crude remained on the rise, gaining more than 8% over the previous two sessions. Broader market caution also weighed on domestic assets, sending the benchmark 10-year government bond yield up 7 basis points on Wednesday, its biggest one-day rise in over three months, while Indian equities fell 2%, their steepest drop over the same period. Meanwhile, Fed meeting minutes reinforced expectations of tighter US monetary policy, with futures implying a one-in-three chance of a rate hike this month and a two-in-three probability by September.