- Indian Rupee (INR) rises nd rises in April
- Indian – Pakistan tensions haven’t impacted the Rupee
- US Dollar (USD) rises versus major peers
- US GDP contracts -0.3%
The US dollar-to-Indian rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate fell for a third straight day on Wednesday. The pair fell -0.01% in the previous session, settling on Tuesday at 85.15. At 21:30 UTC USD/INR trades -0.70% lower at 85.56 and is in a range of 84.42 to 85.26.
The rupee has faced multiple headwinds across April, including U.S. trade policy turmoil and India-Pakistan tensions, to come out stronger on the back of inflows into equities and as exporters increased dollar sales.
Indian Rupee reached the year-to-date high today and it’s highest level since late November, up 1.2% on the month and its second straight monthly increase, helping the rupee recover from all-time lows in February.
Exporters ramped up hedging activity in April, helping the Rupee. Meanwhile, inflows into Indian stocks helped the Rupee to push past a key technical resistance.
Indian Pakistan tensions continue to escalate; however, this isn’t impacting the currency at this time.
Pakistan warned that intelligence suggests that Indian military action is likely soon. Small arms firing is being reported across the border.
The US Dollar is falling against the Rupee but rising against its major peers. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, rose 0.4% on Friday to 99.64, marking a second day of gains.
The USD pushed higher but still booked the worst monthly performance since November 2022, as Trump’s chaotic trade policies hurt the currency’s safe-haven status. The US dollar index fell 3.6% in April.
Today it rose despite weaker-than-forecast data. US GDP shrank -0.3% in Q1 annualised, while ADP payrolls fell to 62k and core PCE inflation slumped to 0% month on month, down from 0.3%. The data suggests that the US economy was struggling even before Trump’s Liberation Day.
