- Indian Rupee (INR) falls after gains yesterday
- Buoyant inflows are offset by local dollar demand
- US Dollar (USD) falls further against its major peers
- US durable goods & consumer confidence data is due
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is rising, recovering from losses yesterday. The pair fell -0.04% in the previous session, settling on Monday at 82.84. At 11:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.05% at 82.95 and trades in a range of 82.84 to 82.89.
The Indian rupee is holding steady in subdued trade across Asian currencies. While the Rupee has been supported recently by buoyant inflows, local dollar demand and interventions by the Reserve Bank of India have limited gains.
Separately, Indian domestic equities were also holding steady as traders booked profits ahead of key domestic US economic data.
The US Dollar is rising against the Rupee but falling versus its major peers. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades at -0.12% at the time of writing at 103.71, falling for a sixth straight day.
The US dollar is falling lower for a sixth straight session as investors look cautiously ahead to a busy week for economic data.
Today, attention is on US durable goods orders, which are expected to fall 4.5% month on month after a flat performance in the previous month.
Meanwhile, U.S. consumer confidence will also be in focus. Consumer confidence is expected to rise to 115 in February, up from 114.8 in January, which was the highest level for consumer morale since December 2021.
However, the main focus this week is on Thursday’s core PCE index, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure for inflation. The data comes as the market has recently pulled back expectations on the timing and the size of Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2024 as the US economy continues to show resilience and as inflation pressures fail to ease significantly.
The market is now pricing in around 80 basis points worth of rate cuts from the Fed this year, down from around 133 basis points just a month ago.
