- Indian Rupee (INR) rises for a second day
- Oil trades 7.5% higher this week
- US Dollar (USD) falls despite hawkish Fed commentary
- US jobless claims are due
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is falling, extending losses from the previous session. The pair settled -0.24% lower on Wednesday at 82.66. At 11:00 UTC, USD/INR trades -0.15% at 82.55, trading in a range of 82.48 to 82.67.
The Rupee fell is showing resilience pushing higher despite recent hawkish Federal Reserve comments and higher oil prices.
Oil has rallied over 7.5% this week and is pushing higher for a fifth straight day. Improving demand from China easing concerns over a US recession and disrupted flows to Turkish ports following Monday’s earthquake have overshadowed data showing that US oil stockpiles hit the highest level in months.
With China’s oil demand expected to rise by around 1 million barrels a day this year, which should help to keep oil prices supported.
At the time of writing, West Texas Intermediate trades at $78.50 per barrel after rebounding from $732.40 on Monday.
The US Dollar is falling across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades -0.19% at the time of writing at 103.22 after modest losses yesterday.
The US dollar is falling on Thursday as traders continue digesting a series of comments from Federal Reserve policymakers ahead of next week’s crucial inflation data.
Four Federal Reserve policymakers were in focus in the previous session, all of whom reiterated the US central banks hawkish stance fed governor Christopher Waller and New York fed president John Williams said that the Fed still probably needs to raise interest rates above 5% owing to the strong US jobs market.
This would imply additional rate hikes after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points last week to 4.75%.
Attention will now turn to US jobless claims, which are expected to rise slightly to 190,000 up from 183,000 in the previous week. A strong jobs report could push the USD higher.
