The Indian rupee is staying largely stabilized in opening trades on Thursday but continues to linger near record low levels. The domestic currency is seen pressurized as the White House announced on Wednesday a new 25% tariff on Indian imports, doubling total U.S. levies on India to 50%, citing India's continued imports of Russian oil. The new tariffs will take effect in 21 days, while the initial 25% tariff begins Thursday. This move makes India one of the most heavily tariffed U.S. trading partners and signals Trump's commitment to punishing nations that buy Russian oil amid the ongoing Ukraine war. Yesterday, rupee recovered from record low level and closed 12 paise higher at 87.72 against the US dollar, supported by a volatile greenback and the Reserve Bank's decision to hold interest rate steady. Indian shares also ended modestly lower on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said that he would increase the tariffs charged on Indian imports very substantially over the next 24 hours because of India's continued purchases of Russian oil. Maintaining the repo rate at 5.50 percent, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the central bank will continue to monitor macroeconomic conditions on a policy-to-policy basis. The central bank has projected CPI inflation for FY26 at 3.1 percent and retained its projection for real GDP growth for FY26 at 6.5 percent. The benchmark BSE Sensex moved in a narrow range before ending the session down 166.26 points, or 0.21 percent, at 80,543.99. The broader NSE Nifty index dropped 75.35 points, or 0.31 percent, to 24,574.20. On the NSE, USDINR futures edged lower to end at 87.80.

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