- Indian Rupee (INR) holds steady after 3-days of losses
- Services PMI rises to 61
- US Dollar (USD) holds steady versus major peers after losses yesterday
- US jobless claims data is due
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is holding steady, snapping a three-day winning run. The pair rose +0.04% in the previous session, settling on Wednesday at 83.25. At 10:30 UTC, USD/INR trades -0.01% at 83.25 and trades in a range of 83.18 to 84.70.
Data from India showed that growth in the dominant service sector accelerated in September thanks to strong demand and improving business confidence.
The S&P Global India service PMI rose to 61 in the previous month, up from 60.1 in August, defying expectations of a decline to 59.5. Delving deeper into the figures, data showed that domestic demand was strong, and international sales to Asia, Europe, and North America were also higher.
The data bodes well for Asia’s third-largest economy, which is expected to be the fastest-growing major economy this fiscal year.
The US Dollar is holding steady across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades -0.02% at the time of writing at 106.76, after losses in the previous session.
The US dollar is holding steady after losses yesterday after weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data. The ADP payroll reported that private job growth was just 89,000 in September, well below the output of the revised 180,000 in August and also well short of the 160,000 that analysts were expecting.
The data suggests that the US labour market could be loosening, which would give the Federal Reserve some incentive to stop its rate hiking cycle. As a result, U.S. Treasury yields, which had risen to a 16-year high, fell lower, pulling the US dollar with it.
However, it’s worth noting that the data was in sharp contrast to the jolts job openings report earlier in the week, which showed a sharp jump in job openings.
Today, attention will remain on the jobs data with the release of challenger job cuts and also US jobless claims, which are expected to show that 210 thousand Americans signed up for unemployment benefits for the first time this was up slightly from 205,000 in the previous week.
