New Delhi, May 15 (IANS) The Indian rupee breached the 96-mark against the US dollar on Friday amid persistent global pressures, rising crude oil prices and continued geopolitical tensions linked to the Iran conflict.

Earlier in the day, the domestic currency opened at 95.86 in the interbank foreign exchange market and slipped to 95.94 during early trade, after touching an all-time low of 95.96 in the previous session.

Pressure on the rupee also intensified after oil marketing companies (OMCs) increased petrol and diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre with immediate effect.

According to experts, the rupee has remained under pressure in recent weeks and emerged as one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia as India’s import bill comes under strain from surging energy costs.

In addition, market sentiment remained fragile after talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping failed to deliver significant progress on key geopolitical flashpoints, particularly on the US-Iran front.

Despite pressure on the rupee, domestic equity markets showed resilience.

BSE Sensex rose 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.

Meanwhile, on the commodities front, international benchmark Brent crude surged 3.46 per cent to $109.38 per barrel. Similarly, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude advanced 4 per cent to $105.24 per barrel.

Notably, oil marketing companies (OMCs) have raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre.

According to a senior official, the marginal increase in fuel prices is significantly lower than the losses being absorbed by public sector oil companies due to soaring global crude oil prices, which have crossed the $100-per-barrel mark.

–IANS

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