Rupee ended lower, Pound lower vs. Dollar
Friday,
07-Dec-2018
05:30 PM (IST)
The Indian rupee ended the session lower at 70.80/81 levels compared to its opening at 70.55/56 levels after touching the low of 70.8125/8225 levels on corporate dollar buying and caution ahead of a meeting between oil producing cartel OPEC and its allies. Rupee touched the high of 70.4525/4625 levels early today after the Brent crude oil price dropped back below $60/barrel ahead of the output cut decision by oil exporting group OPEC and allies. Saudi Arabia's energy minister said he wasn't confident OPEC would reach a deal on Friday to cut oil output as sources said the producer group's leader had yet to agree on exemptions for sanctions-hit Iran. Indian shares ended higher today boosted by a surge in Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd shares on a report that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc might take a stake in the private-sector lender. The broader NSE Nifty closed 0.87 percent higher at 10,693.70, while the benchmark BSE Sensex ended up 1.02 percent at 35,673.25. For the week, the Nifty ended 1.7 percent lower, while the BSE index saw a fall of 1.4 percent. Indian government bonds fell today amid profit booking and fears of higher output cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. In the forward segment 1mth, 3mth and 6mth annualized premia ended the day at 3.95%, 3.91% and 4.07% respectively. India's foreign exchange reserves rose to $393.72 billion as of Nov 30, compared with $392.79 billion a week earlier, the Reserve Bank of India said.
Sterling fell on Friday and was headed for a fourth consecutive week of losses as British Prime Minister Theresa May pressed ahead with plans for a parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal with the European Union, despite warnings it could topple her government. Sterling’s near-term fate hangs on whether May can win a majority for her Brexit deal in a vote on Dec. 11 that will define Britain’s departure from the EU scheduled for March. The odds look stacked against her getting the deal through a deeply divided parliament. The pound was down at $1.2733, near an 18-month low of $1.2659 hit on Wednesday. It also weakened 0.3 percent against the euro to 89.27 pence. A defeat on Tuesday could open up a series of different outcomes to Britain’s departure from the EU — each with its own impact on sterling — ranging from leaving without the deal to holding a second referendum on membership. The growing chance of averting Brexit altogether — potentially via a second referendum — has led some investors to start pricing out the prospect of a damaging “no deal” departure from the EU, analysts say.
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