- Indian Rupee (INR) falls after losses last week
- Oil falls $1 per barrel on Israel-Hamas ceasefire optimism
- US Dollar (USD) falls versus its major peers
- Fed rate decision is on Wednesday
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is rising adding to gains last week. The pair rose 0.05% in the previous week, settling on Friday at 83.40. At 10:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.05% at 83.44 and trades in a range of 83.35 to 83.57.
The Indian rupee struggled to gain momentum on Monday despite the weaker U.S. dollar and despite falling oil prices.
Oil fell more than $1.00 a barrel on Monday as Israel and Hamas peace talks in Cairo calmed fears of a wider Middle Eastern conflict and lifted the chances of a ceasefire. This removed some of the risk premium from oil.
Cheaper oil prices are good news for India, which imports 80% of its oil requirements.
The US Dollar is falling across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades at -0.33% at the time of writing at 105.62, after a flat finish last week.
The US dollar moved lower against its major peers on Monday, pressurized by falling treasury yields and also found the surging Japanese yen.
The yen has soared amid a suspected invention by Japanese authorities, driving flows away from the US dollar.
However, losses in the U.S. dollar are limited. The greenback held on to most of its gains across April, supported by expectations that the Federal Reserve could signal that the central bank will delay interest rate cuts.
US core PCE, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge for inflation, was hotter than expected at 2.8%, unchanged from February.
The core PCE rose 0.3% monthly. Meanwhile, wage growth was 0.7% for the second month, which supported stronger-than-expected spending.
The data supported the view that the Federal Reserve can be patient with regard to cutting interest rates.
The Fed will meet on Tuesday and make its rate announcement on Wednesday; rates are expected to remain unchanged.
