- Indian Rupee (INR) eases on safe haven outflows
- Inflation & industrial production data due
- US Dollar (USD) hovers around yearly high on Fed expectations
- US JOLTS jobs openings
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is pushing higher for a fifth straight session on Tuesday. The pair settled up +0.36% on Monday at 75.38. At 11:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.1% at 75.46 after briefing spiking to 75.67 a fresh six-month high.
The Rupee trades under pressure amid risk off trade. Concerns over rising inflation and stagflation are driving investors out of riskier assets and currencies such as the Rupee and towards the safe haven US Dollar.
Inflationary pressures are building across the globe amid the ongoing energy crisis, supply chain bottlenecks and labour shortages. Fears are growing that central banks will be forced to raise interest rates sooner, even as growth is slowing, tightening financial conditions.
On the data front, India’s industrial production numbers are due shortly. Analysts are expecting industrial output to rise in August to 12% year on year, up from 11.5% in July. Separately inflation is expected to reveal a slight tick lower to 4.5% year on year in September, down from 5%.
The US Dollar is gaining ground versus the Rupee. However, it is losing ground versus its major peers. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies trades +0.08% at the time of writing at 94.30, although this remains around yearly highs.
The US Dollar remains elevated as investors continue to price in a move by the US Federal Reserve to taper bond purchases this year. The markets are expecting an announcement in November. Attention is also moving to the question of rate hikes. With inflationary pressure rising amid the ongoing energy crunch and supply chain disruptions the Fed may need to move sooner to tighten rates than initially expected. US treasury yields trade at a 5 month high.
Looking ahead US JOLTS job opening data is due later and is expected to show that the number of vacancies in the US remains elevated above 10 million.
