Rupee opened lower, Dollar steady vs. major currencies

Tuesday,   12-Dec-2017   09:09 AM (IST)

The Indian rupee opened the day lower at 64.41/42 levels compared to its previous close at 64.36/37 levels as Brent crude rallies past $65.00, highest in two-and-a-half years. Indian government bonds slump, with benchmark yield hitting over 16-month high in early session, as jump in crude oil prices adds to bearish sentiment ahead of retail inflation data due later today. Benchmark indices open flat following Asian shares, that took a breather after three straight sessions of gains, with markets consolidating in the hope an upswing in global growth could outlast a likely hike in US borrowing costs this week. As per the technical indicators range for the USDINR pair may be 64.25-64.75 levels. Rupee has an immediate support at 64.52 levels. A breach of the same may see rupee at 64.61 followed by 64.78 levels. On the positive side rupee is likely to face resistance at 64.32 levels and if it is able to break the same then it may gain up to 64.25 levels followed by 64.18 levels.

The dollar held steady near a recent two-week high versus a basket of major currencies on Tuesday, with traders awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week for fresh catalysts. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates at its two-day policy meeting that will end on Wednesday and is expected to tighten policy further next year, although the policy outlook remains clouded by subdued inflation. Against the yen, the dollar held steady at 113.56 yen, trading near Monday's high of 113.69 yen, which was the dollar's strongest level in about a month. The euro last changed hands at $1.1775, having pulled back from Monday's intraday high of $1.1811. The New Zealand dollar hovered near two-week highs on Tuesday as investors welcomed the appointment of national pension fund chief Adrian Orr, a former central bank official, to head the Reserve Bank of New Zealand from March. Investors were relieved by the selection of an official with extensive expertise in monetary policy, and expected he would not veer too far from the status quo as he carries out a new dual mandate. The New Zealand dollar held steady at $0.6911. On Monday, the kiwi had surged nearly 1.1 percent and climbed to as high as $0.6930, its strongest level since late November. Newly launched bitcoin futures on Chicago-based derivatives exchange Cboe Global Markets suggested that traders expect the crypto currency's blistering price gains to slow in the coming months, even as it blasted above $17,000 on Monday to a fresh record high in the spot market.