The Indian rupee (INR) today rose to below 71 a US dollar, extending gains to the seventh day. Opening at 71.01 a dollar, the rupee traded in the range of 70.86 to 71.15 to a dollar.
The rupee settled at one-month closing high of 70.92, as compared to its previous close of 71.13. In seven days, including today's, the rupee is up about 150 paise against the US dollar. Improved global risk sentiment and gains in other Asian currencies helped lift the rupee higher.
Here are 5 things to know about USD-INR trade today:
1) Higher domestic equity markets boosted the rupee. After a sluggish start, domestic equity benchmark Sensex ended 0.76% higher at 37,384.
2) Global risk appetite improved after European Central Bank (ECB) introduced a fresh round of stimulus. Optimism over a trade deal between the US and China grew after US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would not rule out an interim deal with Beijing on trade, though he prefers a comprehensive agreement. Earlier, both the countries had announced some concessions on tariffs ahead of their next month's trade talks.
"There is a probability of an interim trade deal being reached between US and China. Heading into 2020 elections, the Trump administration is concerned about discontent among farmers on account of low commodity prices. If the tariffs on several goods go up from December as planned, it would increase the costs for an average American consumer. Therefore the Trump administration may consider some kind of de-escalation in exchange for China's commitment to procure agricultural goods from US and IP related commitments," forex advisory firm IFA Global said in a note.
3) The rupee also gained after data released on Thursday showed India's industrial output rose a better-than-expected 4.3% in July from a year earlier. The rupee may trade in the range of 70.75-71.18 in the near term, says IFA Global.
4) Data released on Thursday showed India's retail inflation rate increased 3.21% in August but it remained below the RBI's 4% medium-term target for a thirteenth consecutive month. Analysts expect the RBI to further lower interest rates at its next month's policy meet.
"We expect overall inflation to rise towards 4% over ensuing months—slightly higher than the RBI’s indicative trajectory, although nothing worrisome yet. Food inflation is expected to rise, but core inflation should moderate further. We view this rise in headline CPI more as normalisation of food inflation (after two years of sub-2% inflation) rather than a deteriorating dynamic. Given the benign inflation trajectory, we expect another 50–75 bps of monetary easing in FY20," Edelweiss said in a report.
5) Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have turned net buyers of Indian equities in the past few sessions. They put in ₹783 crore (net) into Indian equity markets on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.
Published On : 13-09-2019
Source : Live Mint
