• Indian Rupee (INR) rises after losses yesterday
  • Indian GDP to grow 8.2% FY23
  • US Dollar (USD) falls from multi-year high versus majors
  • Fed beige book

The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate edged lower on Wednesday, paring gains in the previous session. The pair settled +0.22% higher on Tuesday at 76.43. At 15:00 UTC, USD/INR trades -0.01% at 76.42.

The Indian Rupee fell in the previous session after the International Monetary Fund slashed global growth and Indian growth forecasts for FY23 owing to the fallout from the Russia Ukraine war.

The IMF projects that India’s GDP will grow at 8.2% in FY23, 0.8% lower than projected in January. The GDP is expected to rise 6.9% in FY24, lower than what was projected previously.

The downgrade is reflecting weaker domestic demand as higher oil prices weigh on private consumption and drag net exports lower.

The US Dollar is falling across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies trades -0.6% at the time of writing at 100.36 after two days of gains.

The US Dollar rose firmly yesterday on expectations of a more hawkish Federal Reserve. Comments from St Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard that the Fed could consider hiking interest rates by 75 basis points in the May meeting.

Since then both Fed Evans and Bolstic have said that they don’t consider a 75 basis point a possibility which has soothed concerns in the market. Treasury yields are falling, taking the US dollar lower.

There has been little as far as data is concerned for investors to sink their teeth into. Housing data today revealed that home sales fell in March by -2.7% to 5.77 million, as prices hit a record high. However, with interest rates on the rise, the housing market could soon ease.

Looking ahead there is no more economic data due to be released today. The Fed’s beige book is due to be released later and could add some colour to the current economic picture.