- Indian Rupee (INR) rises after hitting a record low
- 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 is falling, after a flat finish in the previous session. The pair settled +0.0% in the previous session on Wednesday at 83.20. At 12:30 UTC, USD/INR trades -0.18% at 83.03 and trades in a range of 82.99 to 83.25.
The Rupee is rising after hitting a record low on Wednesday against the USD at 83.29 amid a risk-averse environment. Since then, the Reserve Bank of India is expected to have intervened, helping the Rupee higher.
Asian currencies have struggled this week, with the Chinese yuan within touching distance of a record low after a batch of weak data raised concerns over the health of the Chinese economy.
Separately, economists expect retail inflation in India to cool slightly in India to below 7% after unexpectedly rising to a 15-month high of 7.44% in July.
The US Dollar is falling across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades at -0.26% at the time of writing at 103.21, snapping a 5-day winning streak.
The USD is edging lower as the market mood improves. The USD still remains around a 5-week high, supported by expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again. The minutes to the July Federal Reserve meeting showed that policymakers saw a significant upside risk to inflation, meaning that another rate hike this year was still likely.
The CME Fedwatch tool shows that the market is pricing in a 36% probability of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates again in November, up from 24% just a week earlier.
Attention will now turn to US jobless claims, which are expected to show that the number of American’s filing for unemployment benefits for the first time eased to 240k, down from 248k. A strong labour market could further boost bets of another rate hike from the Fed.
