- Indian Rupee (INR) falls but is set for a weekly gain
- Equities and oil prices rise
- US Dollar (USD) falls versus major peers
- US consumer confidence data due
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is rising on Friday, paring some losses from the previous session. The pair settled -0.66% lower on Thursday at 81.10. At 10:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.33% at 81.37. The pair is set to lose -1.1% across the week.
The Rupee is falling despite an upbeat equities market and a broad risk on mood in the market. Indian shares closed high on Friday and booked solid gains across the week, helped higher by a rise in heavyweight financials and IT stocks.
The Rupee is heading lower today but is set to gain across the week, capitalizing on USD weakness, putting it on track for its best week in two months.
Oil prices are pushing higher for a third straight session. West Texas Intermediate is rising 1% at the time of writing at $78.85 per barrel. Oil is set to rise just shy of 7% this week.
The US Dollar is rising against the Rupee but falling versus its major peers. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades -0.16% at the time of writing at 102.23 after steep losses yesterday. The USD is set to fall 1.6% across the week and trades at a 7-month low.
The US dollar fell sharply yesterday and is extending those declines today after US inflation data confirmed expectations that consumer prices had fallen further in December. US CPI was 6.5% year on year last month, down from 7.1% annually in November and in line with analysts’ expectations.
Meanwhile, core inflation, which strips out more volatile items such as food and fuel also cooled in December to 5.7%, down from 6%.
The data has boosted bets that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace at which it raises interest rates in the upcoming policy meetings.
Looking ahead, attention will now turn to US Michigan consumer sentiment data which is expected to show that morale improved in January to 60.5, up from 59.7.
