- Indian Rupee (INR) shows resilience
- Domestic equities and oil prices rise
- US Dollar (USD) recovers earlier losses versus major peers
- US jobless claims unexpectedly rise to 185k.
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is holding steady on Thursday after two days of gains. The pair settled +0.67% lower on Wednesday at 75.94. At 19:00 UTC, USD/INR trades -0.02% at 76.27.
The Indian Rupee was holding steady on Thursday even as domestic equities pushed higher. The Sensex and the Nifty 50 closed higher, experiencing the beat one-day gain over two weeks as Reliance Industries and automobiles gained.
Separately oil prices were also on the rise, as supply concerns were once again dominating. Russian supply concerns linger as the European Union mull over banning Russian oil imports and as Libya continues with outages. Rising oil prices are bad news for India which imports 80% of its oil requirements.
The US Dollar is rising across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades +0.1% at the time of writing at 100.5, rebounding from earlier losses.
The US dollar is rising, boosted by expectations of a more hawkish Federal Reserve. Fed speakers have been in focus across the week and Fed Chair Powell is speaking today.
The Fed is almost certainly expected to hike interest rates by 50 basis points in the May 17 meeting, with even the most dovish of the Fed’s policy makers supporting such a hike. Some analysts are also suggesting that another 50 basis point rate hike is likely in the June meeting.
The US economy appears to be holding up well despite surging inflation. US jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week to 185,000, up from 180,000. Even so, this remains near a 50-year low.
Looking ahead there is no more economic data due. Instead attention will remain on Fed Chair Powell who is expected to speak again shortly.
Tomorrow PMI data is in focus and will shed more light on how the US economy is holding up in light of the ongoing Russian war.
