- Indian Rupee (INR) falls versus stronger US
- Oil prices rise despite reserves release
- US Dollar (USD) rises towards 4 year high
- US data deluge & Fed minutes due
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is heading higher for a fourth straight day. The pair settled 0.01% higher on Tuesday at 74.43. At 10:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.03% at 74.45.
The Indian Rupee is edging lower as oil prices are once again on the rise, extending gains from the previous session.
Oil prices are rising despite the US and other governments around the world, including India, announcing the release of strategic oil reserves in a bid to lower the price of oil. India released a token 5 million barrels and the US 50 million barrels. However, the announcement had the reverse effect and sent oil prices higher. This is because the total set to be released was actually less than what the market had been expecting.
The US Dollar is trading higher across the board on Wednesday. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies trades +0.11% at the time of writing at 96.59 close to its 4-year high.
The US Dollar is moving higher after mild losses in the previous session. The greenback slipped lower following weaker than expected business activity data. The US composite PMI, which is considered a good gauge for business activity fell lower in November to 56.5, down from 57.6. The dominant service sector saw a decline in activity whilst manufacturing expanded.
Today there is a lot of data due to be released ahead of tomorrow’s Thanksgiving public holiday. Today’s releases include jobless claims, durable goods, Q3 GDP and the most closely watch is likely to be Core PCE. This is the Fed’s preferred measure for inflation and is expected to rise to 4.1% in October. A strong reading could increase bets that the Fed will raise interest rates sooner.
In addition to all this data, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes to the latest Fed meeting. However, it is worth noting that the meeting was before US consumer inflation rose to 6.2%, so the minutes could be considered out of date.
