- Indian Rupee (INR) rises after better than forecast data
- Indian manufacturing saw resilient demand
- US Dollar (USD) rises versus major peers
- US ISM manufacturing, JOLTS job openings data
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is ticking a few points lower on Wednesday, paring gains from the previous session gains. The pair settled +0.08% higher on Tuesday at 77.59. At 10:00 UTC, USD/INR trades -0.07% at 77.54.
The Rupee is finding strength from upbeat data after factory activity expanded at a faster than expected pace in May. The Manufacturing PMI came in at 54.6 in May, slightly below April’s 54.7 but still firmly above the level of 50 for an eleventh straight month.
The data showed that demand remained resilient even though inflation was persistently high and firms hired staff at the fastest pace since before the pandemic in January 2020.
The data comes a few days after GDP data revealed that the Indian economy grew at 4.1% in the January to March quarter.
The US Dollar is falling versus the Rupee but gaining versus its major peers. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades +0.23% at the time of writing at 101.98, building on gains from yesterday.
The US dollar rose yesterday, boosted by expectations of a more hawkish Federal Reserve following comments from Fed President Christopher Waller.
Stronger than expected consumer sentiment data also helped the greenback to advance yesterday. According to the Conference Board, Consumer confidence fell slightly in May to 106.4 from 108.6 in April. While this was a three-month low, expectations had been for a larger decline to 103.8.
Today the USD is rising again, tracking Treasury yields higher ahead of the deluge of data. US ISM manufacturing PMI is expected to slip slightly in May to 54.5, down from 55.5. The figure 50 separates expansion from contraction.
JOLTS job openings will also be under the spotlight, with vacancies expected to remain around record highs of over 11 million, highlighting just how tight the US labour market is.
