- Indian Rupee (INR) is set to fall across the week
- Weakness seen in Asian peers
- US Dollar (USD) falls versus major peers
- US PMI data is due
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is inching higher after small gains yesterday. The pair rose +0.02% in the previous session, settling on Thursday at 83.36. At 16:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.08% at 83.36 and trades in a range of 83.32 to 83.41. The pair is set to rise 0.15% across the week.
The Indian Rupee slipped to a record low on Friday, pulled down by weakness in its Asian FX peers and amid dollar demand from foreign banks. Foreign banks are bidding for U.S. dollars, most likely on behalf of custodial clients.
Inflows in the region of $1.5 billion could be expected due to the re-balancing of the MSCI index as of November 30th. This could bring some support to the Indian currency next week.
Meanwhile, domestic equities are set to book a fourth straight week of gains, thanks to strength in the automobile and pharmaceutical sectors. Both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex have risen 0.3% this week.
The US Dollar is falling versus its major peers. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades -0.35% at the time of writing at 103.41 and is set to book losses across the week.
The US dollar is falling on Black Friday, with the US markets open just half of the day. Volumes have been low owing to the Thanksgiving holiday.
This week, investors have continued to weigh up data and evidence to try to gauge when the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates.
Stronger-than-expected jobless claims and more hawkish-than-expected minutes from the November FOMC meeting helped lift the dollar earlier in the week, but the lack of a fresh catalyst has seen the greenback drift lower at the end of the week.
Attention will now turn to the S&P global purchases managing managers index for November. Economists expect the services PMI to tick lower to 50.4 this month, down from 50.6 in October. Meanwhile, the manufacturing PMI is expected to tick lower below the key 50 level, which separates expansion from contraction to 49.8 from the level 50 in October.
Weaker PMI data could support the idea that the federal reserve’s next maybe it will be an interest rate Scott wait could pull USD lower.
