Home INR USD/INR: Indian Rupee Steady As RBI Delays MPC Meeting

USD/INR: Indian Rupee Steady As RBI Delays MPC Meeting

30th September 2020

Indian Rupee (INR) treads water for second session
RBI delays MPC meeting over failure to nominate 3 members
US Dollar (USD) trades higher in risk off trading after the chaotic US Election debate
US GDP & ADP payrolls in focus

The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is holding steady on Wednesday for the second straight session. The pair settled flat on Tuesday at 73.75. At 11:00 UTC, USD/INR trades just a few pips lower at 73.72.

The Reserve Bank of India was supposed to be holding its bi-monthly monetary policy meeting, on September 29^th – October 1^st. Tomorrow October 1^st the central bank was supposed to announce its interest rate decision and monetary policy for the next two months.

However, the RBI has postponed its meeting owing to the failure to nominate 3 members to its six-member panel. Three members tenure expired following the meeting on 6^th August. The central bank is not expected to move on monetary policy when it meets this month.

The monetary policy meeting delay announcement comes after the central bank declared that it would extend benefits to help states with the pandemic fallout for a further 6 months, until the end of March 2021.

The US Dollar is pushing northwards versus its peers following the chaotic Trump – Biden Presidential debate. Biden went into the debate in the lead. Trump’s performance won’t have done much to change that. Broadly speaking markets prefer a Republican President. However, more than that they like certainty. Given that there was no clear winner – the debate has added to market uncertainty, particularly as Trump refused to say whether he would accept the result. Risk off trading following the debate has seen the US Dollar rise on safe haven flows.

The US economic calendar is full with plenty of data to drive the US Dollar. The final reading of US GDP for Q2, the period most affected by lockdown, is expected to confirm a -31.7% annualised decline. US ADP private payroll figures will also be in focus ahead of Friday’s non-farm payroll. Analysts forecast that 648,000 new jobs were created in the private sector in September, up from 428,000 in August. The ADP report is closely correlated to the non-farm payroll report, the most closely watched data point across the month.