- Indian Rupee (INR) falls after weaker PMI data
- China services PMI also falls
- US Dollar (USD) rises ahead of the FOMC minutes
- USD factory orders are due
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is rising, extending gains from the previous session. The pair rose 0.01% yesterday, settling on Wednesday at 81.94. At 11:30 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.24% at 82.14 and trades in a range of 81.97 to 82.18.
The Rupee, along with other Asian currencies, is under pressure on Wednesday after more weak data from China raises concerns over the strength of the post-pandemic economic recovery. Chinese services PMI slipped to 53.9 in June, down from 57.1 in May.
Indian services PMI also eased to 58.5 in June, down from 61.2 in May and below the 60.2 level forecast. While this marks a three-month low, it still represents strong growth amid robust demand.
The US Dollar is rising across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades at +0.15% at the time of writing at 103.20, after gains in the previous session.
The dollar is pushing higher on Wednesday as traders return from the Independence Day holiday.
The USD is rising, boosted by safe-haven flows following weak Chinese data and as investors look ahead to the release of the minutes of the June Federal Reserve meeting.
The minutes from the June meeting where the Federal Reserve left monetary policy unchanged for the first time after straight interest rate hikes but also said that two more rate hikes could be expected this year.
The market will be looking for clues on the future path of rate hikes and come as the market is pricing in an almost 90% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike in July. However, the market is left convinced that The Fed will raise interest rates for a second time between now and December.
In addition to the minutes, U S factory order data will be in focus and is expected to rise 0.8% MoM in May after increasing 0.4% in April.
