Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Wednesday strengthened marginally against dollar tracking gains among its Asian peers as traders assessed the latest remarks from the US on trade talks with China.

The currency opened at 71.48 to a dollar. At 9.10 am, the home currency was trading at 71.48, up 0.31% from its previous close of 71.71.

The US President Donald Trump said that he is “not ready to make a deal with China," but adds Beijing wants an agreement and something could happen soon.

Traders awaiting release of latest monetary policy minutes by Reserve Bank of India. Trading was muted ahead of the Fed’s July meeting minutes and Jackson Hole symposium later in the week.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.595% compared with its previous close of 6.589%.

In pre-trade, the benchmark equity index Sensex was up 0.1% at 37441.75 points. So far this year, the index has risen 3.49%.

In the year so far, foreign investors have bought nearly $8.27 billion in Indian equities and $3.12 billion in debt.

Asian currencies were trading higher. South Korean won was up 0.66%, Malaysian ringgit 0.27%, Indonesian rupiah 0.24%, Taiwan dollar 0.2%, Philippines peso 0.17%, China Offshore 0.16%, China renminbi 0.1%, Singapore dollar 0.07%. However, Japanese yen was down 0.23%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against a basket of major currencies, was at 98.191, down 0.01% from its previous close of 98.19.

Published On : 21-08-2019

Source : Live Mint