- Indian Rupee (INR) rises for a third straight day
- Oil prices are set for a weekly rise
- US Dollar (USD) rises versus major peers after hawkish Fed speak
- USD remain near a 7-month low
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is falling on Friday for a third straight session. The pair settled -0.25% lower on Friday at 81.24. At 11:00 UTC, USD/INR trades -0.08% at 81.17. The pair is set to lose -0.13% across the week, marking the fourth straight week of losses.
The Rupee is attempting to push higher, amid a relatively upbeat market mood. While stocks in Europe are heading higher, Indian domestic equities struggled for direction. A combination of flat domestic equities and rising oil prices could keep a cap on Rupee gains.
Oil is set to book a weekly gain, its second straight week of gains, supported by optimism that the reopening of the Chinese economy will boost oil demand. These hopes are offsetting concerns over slowing growth across the rest of the globe.
The US Dollar is falling against the Rupee but rising against its major peers. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades +0.13% at the time of writing at 102.19 after two days of declines yesterday. Across the week, the USD trades flat.
The USD continues to hover around 7-month lows amid rising worries of an economic slowdown in the US and expectations that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of interest rate hikes in the coming meetings.
Data from the US this week has pointed to the world’s largest economy slowing. Retail sales fell by more than expected, and manufacturing output also declined.
Even so, Federal Reserve officials are still sounding hawkish. Overnight Vice President Lael Brainard said that inflation was still too high. She insisted that interest rate must stay high even though there are signs that inflation is starting to cool.
Looking ahead, attention will turn to US existing home sales data, and more Fed speakers will be hitting the airwaves before the Fed blackout period.
