Indian rupee jumps by most in a month, joins relief rally on hopes of US-Iran peace

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee posted its best single day gain in a month on Wednesday, joining a global relief rally on rising hopes of a cessation of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, which sparked sharp gains across Asian currencies.

The White House believes it is getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations, Axios reported on Wednesday.

Brent crude futures were last down 7% at $102 per barrel, taking a fresh leg lower after the report. Oil prices had retreated earlier in the day after U.S. President Trump signalled a possible deal

The developments helped pull the rupee higher by 0.7% before to 94.61 per dollar. It had touched a record low of 95.4325 on Tuesday.

The Indian rupee logged its sharpest single-day gain since April 2, when regulatory measures by the central bank drove a rebound from record low levels.

Oil-sensitive Asian currencies like the Indonesian rupiah and Philippine peso rose as well, while regional gains were led by the Korean won, which surged over 2%.

“Investors have jumped on the news of ‘great progress’ in US-Iran negotiations, buying risk assets and selling the dollar. It is too early to sound the all-clear in this crisis, but the USD can explore the downside,” analysts at ING said in a note.

The dollar index was down 0.5% at 97.88. Global equities extended gains following the Axios report on the potential agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

India’s benchmark equity index, the Nifty 50 ended higher by 1.2% while the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond slumped nearly 8 bps to 6.93%.