• Indian Rupee (INR) slips despite upbeat RBI assessment
  • Equities trade at record highs
  • US Dollar (USD) extends gains
  • US retail sales & consumer confidence in focus

The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is edging higher on Friday for a second straight session. The pair climbed +0.1% on Thursday settling at 74.54. At 11:40 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.09% higher at 74.60.

The Rupee edged lower despite domestic equities trading at all time highs and an upbeat assessment of the Indian economic outlook by the Reserve Bank of India.

The RBI reported a rise in mobility indicators and attendance at workplaces in a sign that the economy was picking up again. The RBI also noted a rise in advance tax payments, power consumption and digital transactions which all point to a revival in business activity and with it consumer confidence.

India was hit hard by the second wave of covid. However, cases are starting to slowly creep higher again which is will be watched carefully

The US Dollar is trading higher across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies trades +0.09% at 92.70 after steep losses in the previous session. The US Dollar index is set to gain 0.6% across the week, it’s largest weekly gain in a month.

The US Dollar pushed higher yesterday thanks to safe haven flows in the risk off session. Concerns over rising cases of covid across the globe unnerved investors sending riskier assets lower whilst boosting the greenback.

US jobless claims came in as expected falling from 373,000 initial claims to 360,000. The data shows a steady but slow improvement in the labour market.

Attention is now turning to US retail sales data which analysts expect to show a -0.4% decline month on month in June. This comes after a -1.3% contraction in the previous month. A second straight month of declines could unnerve investors and drag on demand for the US Dollar.