Rupee made a comback in the green territory on Thursday as it recovered 51 paise to trade at 91.54 against the US dollar in early trade, after slumping to record low a day earlier. The domestic currency had plunged 56 paise on Wednesday to settle at an all-time low of 92.05 against the dollar, dragged down by a surge in crude oil prices linked to the Iran crisis. During the session, it briefly weakened further to 92.3025, its lowest level on record.Traders have cautioned that the currency’s trajectory remains closely related to crude oil prices. Bankers also told Reuters noted that rupee will likely remain sensitive to movements in oil markets, while investors are watching for possible intervention by the Reserve Bank of India after the currency declined 1.3% over the last two days.“Right now the rupee is being driven almost entirely by oil. As long as the (Mideast) conflict continues to keep crude prices choppy, the pressure will likely persist,” a currency trader at a private bank told Reuters.Meanwhile, in the commodity market, oil prices continued to climb, with Brent crude rising nearly 3% in Asian trading to just below $84 a barrel. The benchmark is not far from the peak of $85.12 it reached after the outbreak of the US-Iran war. Concerns that the Strait of Hormuz could face prolonged disruption have helped keep prices elevated, with Brent gaining more than 15% this week.Dalal Street also showed signs of recovery, after sharp declines in the previous two sessions. At 9:17 AM, the Nifty50 was trading at 24,642.30, up 162 points or 0.66%, while the BSE Sensex rose 521 points, or 0.66%, to 79,636.89.
