- Indian Rupee (INR) falls for a second day after the budget
- Concerns over record borrowing are unnerving investors
- US Dollar (USD) drops after Fed officials calm fears
- US ADP payroll data due
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is moving higher on Wednesday for a second straight session. The pair settled +0.26% higher yesterday at 74.72. At 15:30 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.07% at 74.77.
The Rupee trades under pressure after the release of the Indian budget for the coming fiscal year. The record level of borrowing has fueled fears that the Reserve Bank of Indian will be forced to act against rising inflation, despite its current dovish stance.
The plans to borrow a record 14.95 trillion rupee, far exceeded market expectations, which when combined with high oil prices and fears of a rate hike from the Fed could force the RBI to move sooner than initially expected.
The US Dollar is rising versus the Rupee but falling versus its major peers. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies trades -0.39% at the time of writing at 96.01 falling for a third straight session.
The US dollar is fell yesterday after Fed speakers quietened fears of an overly aggressive Fed. Concerns that the Fed could push rates higher too quickly sent the US Dollar to a 19-month high last week.
Today the risk on mood in the market is dragging on the safe haven US Dollar. The market mood is upbeat following the release of Alphabet results yesterday after the market close. The tech giant reported record revenue, boosting risk sentiment across the markets.
Today attention is turning to the ADP private payroll report. Analysts are expecting 207,000 new jobs to have been added in the private sector in January. This would be significantly lower than the 807,000 created in December but that figure appears to be an outlier. A strong reading could boost the US dollar as well as lift expectations for a strong reading from Friday’s non-farm payroll report.
