- Indian Rupee (INR) is falling after losses yesterday
- Indian domestic equities rise
- US Dollar (USD) rises versus its major peers
- US import prices rise
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is rising after losses yesterday. The pair fell 0.13% in the previous session, settling on Wednesday at 83.41. At 19:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.09% at 83.48 and trades in a range of 83.36 to 83.58.
The Indian rupee struggled against the stronger U.S. dollar and underperformed its Asian peers. Weakness in the rupee came despite a rise in domestic equities as Indian shares advanced on Thursday led by information technology stocks and optimism surrounding a US rate cut.
12 of the 13 major sectors closed in positive territory, with IT stocks rising 1.66%.
The Nifty 50 trades around a 19-month high and trained in a 378-point range, the largest since May 3.
Meanwhile, oil prices gained almost 1%, keeping pressure on the rupee. Oil prices rose despite oil inventory data showing a larger-than-expected draw.
The US Dollar is rising across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades at +0.13% at the time of writing at 104.48, snapping a three-day losing streak.
The US dollar rebounded on Thursday as investors digested the latest data, which raised questions about the Federal Reserve’s fight to tame inflation.
Import prices rose by 0.9% in April, raising concerns that high import prices could delay the central bank’s plans to cut interest rates.
The data comes one day after yesterday’s CPI figures showed that inflation cooled more than expected. While inflation cooled to 3.4%, easing for the first time in six months, it’s still well above the central bank’s 2% target.
Meanwhile, the markets are also weighing up US jobless claims, which showed that the number of people fighting for unemployment benefits last week rose to 222 K, down slightly from 323 K. Jobless claims between 200,000 and 250,000 still point to a strong labour market.
