Indian Rupee Rebounds As Oil Eases; MPC Decision In Focus
5 October 2018 / Morning Brief
Indian Rupee
The Indian rupee little changed at 73.65 pair now at 73.50 against 73.58 previous close.
Pair to tip in 73.208- 73.80 range today.
The Indian rupee turned higher against the dollar in early trade, as foreign banks sold the dollar, while overnight fall in crude oil prices also gave relief to the swooning currency from higher U.S. yields. Investors also await outcome of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee’s interest rate decision later today and will see if the authority would raise interest rates to support the rupee.
Global Currency
The dollar stood tall on Friday against its major peers, including the yen and euro, as investors evaluated the impact of a two-day global government bond rout that has lifted U.S. Treasury yields to seven-year highs. The private payroll numbers were seen as boosting the odds that official U.S. jobs data for September due later in the day would also be stronger than expected.
The euro was not far off-six week lows against the dollar, trading basically unchanged at 1.1515. The euro is down about 0.8 percent against the dollar so far this month. Euro zone government bond yields rose sharply on Thursday after U.S. economic data bolstered the case for interest rate hikes in the world's largest economy.
Global Markets
Oil prices rose on Friday, as traders focused on U.S. sanctions against Iran's crude exports that are set to start next month to tighten global markets. Crude oil prices drifted lower (on Thursday) on combination of rising oil production in Saudi Arabia and Russia and a build-up of inventories in the U.S.
Gold steadied on Thursday as positive U.S. economic data and prospects of tighter monetary policy offset limited gains from safe haven buying. Gold has fallen about 12 percent since hitting a peak in April, under pressure from a strong dollar.
