- Indian Rupee (INR) falls as GDP outlook is cut
- Indian equities fall
- US Dollar (USD) rises after mixed data
- US retail sales rise
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is rising on Thursday after losses in the previous session. The pair settled -0.18% yesterday at 79.43, trading in a range between 79.36 to 79.62. At 15:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.37% at 79.72.
Rating agency Fitch said that it expects the Indian economy to slow, cutting the country’s economic growth forecasts for the current fiscal year. Fitch predicts that GDP will be 7%, down from 7.8%; it also forecast a slower pace of growth in FY 2024 to 6.7%, down from 7.4%.
The global economic slowdown, high inflation, and tighter monetary policy are to blame for the slower growth, the agency said.
Indian equities fell in the worst day in two weeks, dragged lower by technology stocks and bank stocks which fell from record highs.
The US Dollar is rising across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades at +0.09% at the time of writing at 109.68 after booking losses in the previous session.
The USD dollar is edging higher on Thursday as the market price in the latest round of data painted a mixed picture. Retail sales surprised the market by rising after a drop in the previous month. Sales rose 0.3% year on year in August after the July reading was downwardly revised to -0.4% annually as investors kept spending despite high inflation and rising mortgage rates.
Separately, initial jobless claims rose by 213,000, down from a downwardly revised 218,000 in the previous week and below forecasts from 226,000. The data highlights the strength in the labour market. Meanwhile, US manufacturing readings from New York and Philadelphia pointed to a contraction.
The data comes as investors look ahead to the September FOMC where the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by 75 if not 100 basis points.
