• Indian Rupee (INR) falls versus stronger US
  • Indian GDP expected to be 7-7.5% next fiscal year
  • US Dollar (USD) surges back towards 16-month high
  • US Fed speakers in focus

The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is heading higher after two straight days of losses. The pair settled -0.1% lower on Thursday settling at 74.16. At 11:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.12% at 74.25. The pair is set to decline -0.1% across the week.

The Rupee is coming under pressure owing to a surging US Dollar. However, the Rupee is showing some resilience.

India’s economic advisor to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi expects the country’s economic growth to range between 7% and 7.5% in the next fiscal year. He added that the next budget should provide a clear path to the privatization of state-owned assets.

The Indian government expects the economy to grow by 10.5% in the current fiscal year and the economy rebounds from the pandemic. Private investment is also expected to continue to rise.

Attention will now turn to the Reserve Bank of India’s foreign exchange reserves which will be announced shortly.

The US Dollar is surging higher across the board on Friday. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies trades +0.5% at the time of writing at 95.97 back up at the 16-month high.

The US Dollar is powering higher as investors are once again focusing on the likelihood of the Fed raising interest rates sooner rather than later.

US jobless claims data yesterday supported a move by the Fed. Initial jobless claims fell to 268,000 down from an upwardly revised 269,000 the week before. This was the lowest number of Americans claiming unemployment benefit for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Also boosting the US Dollar are safe haven flows. With COVID cases climbing quickly in Europe and lockdown restrictions being applied to the unvaccinated in some countries, concerns are rising over the economic impact of the new restrictions.

There is no high impacting US data due to be released today. Investors will be listening to several Fed speakers who could provide further clues on the timing of the first Fed rate hike.