The rupee ended at 85.85 per US dollar, down 0.54% from Friday’s close of 85.39, after hitting an intraday low of 86.02.
The dollar strengthened broadly after Trump unveiled a new tariff policy targeting countries he said are “aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies” of the BRICS group, prompting a selloff in emerging market currencies.
In a social media post, Trump said the US would begin issuing tariff notices starting 12:00 pm ET (1600 GMT), without providing further details on the scope or timeline of implementation.
In a separate post, he proposed an additional 10% tariff on countries associated with the BRICS bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, stating that “no exceptions” would be granted under the new policy.
The risk-off tone triggered a slide across EM currencies, which underperformed G4 currencies (the US dollar, euro, British pound and Japanese yen). The Thai baht and South African rand lost over 0.8%, while the rupee’s decline was relatively moderate in comparison.
Traders expect volatility to persist in the near term, with political headlines from the US likely to remain a key driver for EM forex markets.
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