- Indian Rupee (INR) falls for a second day
- Wholesale inflation cools 0.5%
- US Dollar (USD) rises versus major peers
- US PPI, retail sales and jobless claims beat forecasts
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is rising for a second straight session. The pair rose +0.10% yesterday, settling on Wednesday at 82.93. At 16:30 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.16% at 83.06 and trades in a range of 82.92 to 83.10.
The Indian Rupee slipped amid a mixed market mood and as oil prices continued to rise.
WTI rose to a fresh 2023 high amid concerns over tight supply and after the PBoC cut bank reserve requirements for a second time this year to support the faltering economy.
On the data front, India’s wholesale price index cooled 0.5% in August compared to a year earlier. Expectations had been for a fall of 0.6% after it fell 1.36% in July.
The US Dollar is rising across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades +0.38% at the time of writing at 105.16, extending gains for a third straight day.
The US dollar pushed higher after a series of stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data. US retail sales and producer prices both roast in August by more than economists anticipated, boosted by higher fuel prices, which risk keeping inflation elevated.
Retail sales rose 0.6% month or month in July, well above the 0.2% forecast.
Meanwhile, the producer price index, which measures inflation at the factory gate, rose 0.7% month on month as the cost of gasoline surged 20%, accounting for much of that gain.
Separately, US jobless claims also came in ahead of expectations at 220k, up from 216k in the previous week, a 7-month low, but below forecasts of 225k.
The data, coupled with yesterday’s consumer inflation data, is not expected to prompt the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates in the September meeting next week. However, the data does mean that another interest rate hike before the end of the year remains a real possibility.
