- Indian Rupee (INR) rises after 3-days of losses
- RBI intervention suspected
- US Dollar (USD) eases after 4-days of gains
- FOMC minutes are due later
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate falling, snapping a three-day winning run. The pair rose +0.05% in the previous session, settling on Tuesday at 83.21. At 12:30 UTC, USD/INR trades -0.05% at 83.17 and trades in a range of 83.09 to 85.03.
The Rupee has recovered from around a record low on likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India and amid a recovery in the Chinese yuan. The yuan and Asian currencies more generally had been under pressure in recent sessions amid rising concerns over the health of the Chinese economy.
Local forex markets in India are closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Separately oil prices have also been under pressure in recent sessions as concerns over China hut commodity markets. West Texas Intermediate has fallen over 2% so far this week after seven straight weekly gains.
The US Dollar is falling 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 103.12, snapping a 4-day losing streak.
The USD is easing lower as investors look ahead to the release of the minutes from the July Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting. The central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points at the meeting, and Fed Chair Powell left the door open for further rate hikes if needed. The minutes could provide further clues about where policymakers see interest rates heading.
The minutes come after data yesterday showed that US retail sales were stronger than expected in July, rising 0.7% month on month, up from 0.3% and ahead of the 0.4% forecast. The data suggests that the US consumer is spending well as inflation cools and interest rates rise. Strong consumer spending boosted bets that the Fed could hike rates further, and lifted the USD on Tuesday.
