The rupee settled at 69.70 against 70.40 at the previous close. The
local unit moved in 69.6650-70.68 per dollar band intra-day.
Rupee fell below Rs 70 a dollar during afternoon trade Thursday as
exporters sold their dollar holding as Brent crude oil prices eased
further towards $55 a barrel. Oil prices are falling and this is
prompting corporate and exporters to cover their dollar holdings.
Unwinding positions in the market due to year‐end is also impacting
the dollar/rupee in the offshore market. Market participants
expected Fed to soon pause its rate hike cycle after the Fed
December policy.
Global Currency
The dollar fell to a one‐month low on Thursday on growing concerns
that U.S. policymakers may be raising interest rates just as the
world's biggest economy faces a slowdown. While the Federal
Reserve raised interest rates for the fourth time in a year and
officials signalled they may hike three more times by early 2020,
bond markets marked increased expectations the U.S. economy may
be running out of steam.
The euro rose 0.8 percent to 1.1471 building on gains on Wednesday
on news that Italy had struck a deal with the European Commission
over its contested 2019 budget and some solid trade data this week.
Global Markets
Oil prices fell more than 4 percent on Thursday, hitting their lowest
in more than a year on worries about oversupply and the outlook for
energy demand as a U.S. interest rate rise knocked stock markets.
U.S. light crude oil CLc1 fell 2.35 a barrel, or 4.9 percent, to a low of
$45.82, before recovering a little to around $46.50.
Gold prices edged higher on Thursday supported by a softer dollar
and weakness in the equities market, after the U.S. Federal Reserve
delivered a less‐dovish outlook on monetary tightening than many
had expected.
