The Rupee opened stronger on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court stuck down President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs, though his subsequent 15% duty announcement is likely to limit follow-through. The optimism was tempered to an extent after Trump announced a new 10% levy on global imports, and later lifted it to 15%, reviving uncertainty around the trade outlook. For India, that is significant. Exports that were earlier subject to 50% tariffs - and were set to decline to around 25% under a U.S.-India trade deal - will now face the newly announced 15% levy. While policy uncertainty persists, the effective tariff burden appears materially lower than previously feared. India will likely reassess its U.S. trade deal, especially since the threat of punitive tariffs with respect to Russian oil purchases is no longer there. The dollar fell on Monday as traders took the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down most of President Donald Trump's tariffs as supportive for global growth, though confusion and risk of conflict in the Middle East kept moves relatively small. The euro was up 0.4% to $1.1823 and sterling rose by a similar margin to $1.3521 early in Asia trade, which was lightened a little by a holiday in Japan and China's Lunar New Year break. The dollar fell 0.4% to 154.42 yen . The New Zealand and Australian dollars were a little higher in morning trade, with the Aussie breaching 71 cents and the kiwi hovering just shy of 60 cents. The safe-haven Swiss franc jumped 0.5% to 0.7716 francs per dollar. Trump's replacement levies run for 150 days and it is not clear if the U.S. owes importers refunds on duties already paid, with the Supreme Court making no ruling on that issue. The European Commission demanded on Sunday the U.S. stick to a deal reached last year with the EU, which includes zero tariffs on some products such as aircraft and spare parts. But through 2025 the dollar fell - the dollar index dropped more than 9% - as markets ended up focusing instead on anticipating interest rate cuts, worrying about the U.S. fiscal deficit and Trump's unnerving policy swerves. Oil prices slid 1% on Monday with the U.S. and Iran headed for a third round of nuclear talks, easing concerns about a potential conflict, while President Donald Trump created uncertainty for global growth and fuel demand with a new round of tariff hikes. Brent crude futures slid 75 cents, or 1.05%, to $71.01 a barrel by 0055 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $65.74 a barrel, down 74 cents, or 1.11%.......
More