- Indian Rupee (INR) slips after losses last week
- Chinese industrial profits growth slows to 2.7%
- US Dollar (USD) falls versus major peers
- US new home sales
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is rising after modest gains last week. The pair rose +0.12% in the previous week, settling on Friday at 83.34. At 12:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.03% at 83.35 and trades in a range of 83.15 to 83.43.
The Indian Rupee fell last week and is edging lower again on Monday after data showed that Chinese industrial profits slowed in October. Profits rose 2.7% year on year as growth narrowed back to single digits following an 11.9% increase in September. The figure raises concerns over deflation in Asia’s largest economy.
Meanwhile, losses in the Rupee have been limited thanks to IPO-related inflows. However, sustained dollar demand from domestic firms is keeping pressure on the Indian currency.
The growth outlook for India continues to look strong with activity supported by domestic consumption. The Reserve Bank of India has projected a 6.5% growth in the Indian economy from July to September.
The US Dollar is rising against the Rupee but falling against the USD. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades -0.15% at the time of writing at 103.25, after falling last week.
The US dollar is moving lower versus its major peers, extending losses from the previous week. The US dollar index fell 0.5% last week, marking its second straight weekly decline.
The US dollar has come under pressure in November as the market becomes increasingly convinced that the Federal Reserve will not hike interest rates further and that the next move by the central bank will be a rate cut.
Inflation has cooled and data has been starting to show some signs of weakness, indicating that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hiking cycle was cooling the economy.
That said, data last week was more of a mixed bag with jobless claims falling by more than expected, highlighting the resilience in the US labor market, while the services PMI unexpectedly strengthened in November. Meanwhile, the minutes from the FOMC meeting showed that the Fed didn’t discuss when it might start cutting rates.
This week is a key week for U.S. data with core PCE figures, which are the Fed’s preferred measure for inflation and U S GDP data due.
Today, the focus is on US new home sales, which are expected to rise 4% after rising 12.3% in the previous month.
