- Indian Rupee (INR) rises for a second day
- RBI intervention could be supporting the Rupee
- US Dollar (USD) eases from a 10-month high
- US jobless claims were ahead of forecasts
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is falling for a second straight day. The pair fell -0.06% in the previous week, settling on Wednesday at 83.18. At 14:30 UTC, USD/INR trades -0.03% at 83.14 and trades in a range of 83.12 to 83.38.
The Indian Rupee is managing to tick higher, which some analysts believe is likely down to the Reserve Bank of India selling dollars to prevent the Rupee from falling to a record low. Meanwhile, the Indian stock market also remains weak dropping to a four-week low amid a global risk-off sentiment in the markets. The Nifty50 closed almost 1% lower and the Sensex shed 0.92%.
The US Dollar is falling across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades -0.3% at the time of writing at 106.33 as it eases from a 10-month high.
The US dollar is easing lower but still remains near a 10-month high as investors digest the latest batch of U.S. economic data and look ahead cautiously to a series of Federal Reserve speakers including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
US jobless claims came in stronger than expected, rising to 204,000, up from 202,000 in the previous week. This was below the 215,000 forecast. The data highlights ongoing resilience in the U.S. jobs market ahead of next week’s nonfarm payroll. Part of the Fed’s job in reining in inflation has been to cool the labour market and bring down wages but so far that doesn’t appear to be happening.
Meanwhile, US GDP data for the second quarter confirmed the 2.1% annualised growth, which was in line with forecasts and up slightly from the 2% in the previous quarter.
Attention is now turning to Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who is due to speak later and could shed more light on the future path of interest rates.
Finally, concerns over the U.S. government shutdown, which could just be three days away, could keep investors on their toes Senate plan a procedural vote later today.
