Answer
The rectangle is repelled by the straight wire.
Work Step by Step
The increasing current in the straight wire will increase the magnitude of the magnetic flux in the metal rectangle. To fight this change, the induced current will produce a magnetic field that is opposed to the external field.
The current through the closer side of the rectangle will flow opposite to the direction of the original current in the straight wire. In the farther-away side of the rectangle, the current flows parallel to the original current.
Wires carrying current in opposite directions repel each other, and this repulsive force is stronger than the attractive force between the wires that carry current in the same direction. The net result is that the rectangle is repelled.
This is consistent with Lenz’s Law because if the rectangle were free to move, the net repulsive force would move it farther away from the straight wire, into a region of weaker magnetic field, decreasing the magnitude of the magnetic flux.
