- Indian Rupee (INR) tracks equities market higher
- Bond yields jump as RBI sells debt at higher yields
- US Dollar (USD) slumps as investors look towards Federal Reserve Jerome Powell’s speech on Thursday at virtual Jackson Hole Symposium
After holding steady across the previous week, the US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate has plunged over 1% at the start of the new week. The rupee settled on Friday at 74.92. At 11:30 UTC, USD/INR trades -1.06% at 74.12. This is towards the lower end of the daily traded range.
The Indian Rupee surged to a 5-month high versus its US counterpart, tracking Indian equity markets higher. The Sensex has rallied over 3% so far across August owing to stronger than forecast corporate earnings and solid interest from foreign investors. FII’s purchased $5.5 billion in equities this month, making it the highest level of investment in almost a year and a half.
Bond yields also surged after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sold debt at higher than forecast yields amid a steep rise in inflation
The strong equity market and rising bond yields distracted investors from the surging number of coronavirus cases in India. The total number of infections has surpassed 3 million, rising from 2 million in just 17 days.
The US Dollar is trending lower across the board at the start of the new week as investors look ahead to the Jackson Hole Symposium. The is an annual meeting of central bankers, which will be virtual for the first time.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to give a speech on Thursday, the first of the two days. Investors will be listening closely to ascertain where the central bank intends to take monetary policy from here.
Whilst business activity and home sales data has been broadly upbeat labour market data is a cause for concern. The Fed are still expected to ease monetary policy further to support the US economic recovery and Jerome Powell could hint towards this on Thursday.
