The Indian rupee edged up by 5 paise to 87.67 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, trading in a tight range.At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 87.69 and strengthened slightly to 87.67, up from Wednesday’s close of 87.72. The previous day had seen the rupee rebound 16 paise from record lows. This came despite fresh economic tensions after US President Donald Trump doubled import tariffs on Indian goods to 50%, targeting India over its continued oil trade with Russia.Trump’s new tariffs, effective in 21 days, are expected to hit Indian sectors like textiles, leather, and seafood exports the hardest. India sharply responded to the tariff criticising the move, calling it “unfair and unreasonable.” US has singled out India for the harshest tariff rate of 50%, compared to 30% for China and 15% for Turkey, despite all three importing Russian oil.Experts warn the economic fallout could be serious.“The escalation adds to concerns over the economic impact. If no breakthrough happens within the 21-day window, FY26 GDP growth may have to be revised below 6 per cent, factoring in a 40-50 basis point hit — twice the earlier estimate from tariff effects,” CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari told PTI.Pabari also noted that the rupee remains vulnerable due to rising global uncertainty. India’s foreign exchange reserves have dropped by $9.3 billion to $688.9 billion as of August 1, pointing to active central bank intervention to support the rupee.Indian stock markets traded on a weaker note on Thursday. BSE Sensex fell 335.71 points to 80,208.28, while the Nifty50 declined 114.15 points to 24,460.05.
