Rupee opens 4 paise down at 86.41 against the dollar

Indian rupee

The rupee opened 4 paise down on July 23 on a marginal rise in dollar index. The currency opened at 86.41 against the dollar after closing the previous day at 86.37.

The dollar index, which measures the American currency against a basket of currencies, rose to 97.44 in the early trade from 97.39 in previous trading sessions.

"The rupee is expected to remain within a range of 85.75–86.60," said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst- Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities.

The yen rose to 146.88 after President Donald Trump said the US reached a trade deal with Japan that will set tariffs on Japanese imports at 15 percent and see the key American ally invest $550 billion in the United States.

“I just signed the largest trade deal in history — I think maybe the largest deal in history — with Japan,” Trump said at an event at the White House on July 22 after announcing the deal on social media. “And that was done with Japan. They had their top people here and we worked on it long and hard and it’s a great deal for everybody.”

Trump said on Truth Social that the pact calls for Japan to “open their Country” to US automobile imports, as well as additional agricultural imports, without specifying further. Trump has repeatedly zeroed in on auto trade as he has criticised trade imbalances with the country. Around 80 percent of Japan’s trade surplus with the US is in cars and car parts, a Bloomberg report said.

But the deal doesn’t seem to have gone down well with Detroit Three automakers. According to a Reuters report, a group representing General Motors, Ford  and Chrysler-parent Stellantis raised concerns about a trade deal that could cut tariffs on auto imports from Japan to 15 percent while leaving tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico at 25 percent.

The report quoted Matt Blunt, who heads the American Automotive Policy Council that represents the Detroit Three automakers, as saying they were still reviewing the agreement but "any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no US content than the tariff imposed on North American built vehicles with high US content is a bad deal for US industry and US auto workers."