The rupee settled at 71.77 against 71.48 at the previous close. The local unit moved in 71.4550-71.8675 per dollar band intra-day.
Dollar/rupee futures traded higher on Wednesday in line with spot and forward premia with traders mostly preferring to stay long dollars in view of worsening Sino-US trade relations and mounting recesion fears globally. Participants in futures are mostly preparing for stronger dollar with the ongoing recession fears and US-China trade war tensions. Nowadays, investors in rupee spot as well as derivatives are also tracking the Chinese yuan.
Global Currency
The Japanese yen clung to its recent gains on Wednesday as worries about a global economic downturn grew, while sterling slumped on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's move to limit parliament's opportunity to derail his Brexit plans. Two-year U.S. government bond yields rose further above 10-year yields, a deepening of the so-called inversion of the yield curve that many see as a harbinger of a recession. Investors worry the trade conflict between the United States and China could tip the world into an economic slowdown.
Euro/dollar was little changed, trading at $1.1091 EUR=EBS with little in the way of new economic data scheduled for Wednesday or developments to spark bigger moves.
Global Markets
Gold eased on Wednesday, after rising over 1% in the previous session on fears of a possible recession, but held close to a more than six-year high on hopes of a rate cut by the U.S. central bank and uncertainties around the Sino-U.S. trade talks.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after industry data showing a fall in stockpiles of U.S. crude somewhat eased worries about subdued demand due to the China-U.S. trade war. Brent crude futures LCOc1 climbed 70 cents to $60.21 a barrel.
