USD/INR ends up on oil importers bid

The rupee settled at 68.9550 against 68.81 at the previous close. The local unit moved in 68.73-68.9975 per dollar band intra-day.
Dollar/rupee ended up Thursday on buying by nationalised banks likely on behalf of oil importers. Nationalised banks including Bank of Baroda and Bank of India were on the buy-side today. PSBs bought most likely for oil importers. Dollar/rupee ended at Rs 68.95/$1 Thursday compared to previous close of Rs 68.81/$1. Crude oil prices continued easing after US government data showed large builds in refined product stockpiles. The greenback weakened against its major counterparts weighed down by lower US yields.

The dollar slipped for a second day against its rivals on Thursday on the back of softer U.S. Treasury yields after weak housing data as investors geared up for a policy meeting next week where officials are set to cut interest rates for the first time in a decade. While expectations of a 25 basis point rate cut are firmly baked into money markets, some investors are gunning for a 50 basis point cut. The Fed is widely expected to cut a total by nearly 75 basis points by the end of the year.
The euro added to modest overnight gains and edged up 0.1% to $1.1238. Its gains were restrained by expectations of easing from the European Central Bank as early as next week.

Gold prices pulled back from a two-week high to trade lower on Thursday, as some investors took advantage of the last session's gain to book profits. U.S. gold futures GCv1 edged 0.1% lower to $1,421.60 an ounce.
Oil edged lower on Thursday, unable to shake off the downbeat mood of the last two days in response to a sharp rise in U.S. stockpiles of products such as gasoline, pointing to weak demand during the summer driving season in the United States.

Date	Time	Currency	Event	Actual	Forecast	Previous
18/07/2019	14.00	GBP	Retail Sales (MoM) (Jun)	1.0%	-0.3%	-0.6%

Research