Rupee falls as strong US jobs data rekindles fear of aggressive Fed hikes

The Federal Reserve has already raised interest rates by 225 basis points since March 2020

The Indian rupee weakened sharply versus the dollar on Monday as a stronger-than-expected US jobs report rekindled concerns over aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, dealers said.

At 10:00 am IST, the rupee was trading at 79.54 per dollar as against 79.25 per dollar at the previous close.

Data released after Indian trading hours on Friday showed that the US economy added 528,000 jobs in the previous month, with the unemployment rate falling to a fifty-year low.

With economic growth in the US showing firm momentum, the Federal Reserve is likely to opt for steep rate