- Indian Rupee (INR) falls reversing yesterday’s gains
- Quarter end flows in play
- US Dollar (USD) rises despite cooling inflation
- US core PCE slips to 4.6%
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is rising on Friday after losses in the previous session . The pair fell -0.12% yesterday settling at 82.08. At 17:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.05% at 82.12 and trades in a range of 82.04 to 82.31. The pair is set to lose 0.25% across the week.
The Indian Rupee is edging lower despite a risk on mood on the final day of the fiscal year. It is not unusual for companies and importers to lift demand for the USD as buying demand ramps up.
Separately, India’s fiscal deficit for the 11 months to February touched 14.54 trillion rupees nearly 83% of annual estimates. Net tax receipts were 17.32 trillion rupee.
The US Dollar is rising across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades +0.15% at the time of writing at 102.38 but is expected to fall 0.7% across the week.
The US dollar is rising on the final day of the week as Investors shrug off a slightly cooler than expected core PCE inflation report. Core PCE, the federal reserve’s preferred measure of inflation eased to 4.6% year on year bin February, down from 4.7% in January. expectations had been for the inflation gauge to stay steady at 4.7%.
despite the cooling of inflation, it is still too high and with banking crisis fears ebbing the Federal Reserve could still to press ahead with another rate hike in the May meeting. According to the CME Fedwatch tool, the market is now pricing in a 50 /50 possibility of the Fed raising interest rates to 5%-5.25%.
Separately, US Michigan consumer confidence fell by more than expected in March to 62, down from 67 in February.
Looking ahead several Fed speakers are due to speak. Investors will be watching carefully for clues over the Fed’s next move.
