Rupee closed higher, Sterling lower Vs dollar
Thursday,
14-Mar-2019
05:34 PM (IST)
The Indian rupee closed higher against the dollar as foreign fund inflows into local markets erased early losses from the central bank’s decision to conduct foreign exchange swaps to infuse rupee liquidity. The Indian rupee opened at 69.67/68 and touched a low of 69.78/79, before recovering to close higher at 69.3525/3625. Most Asian currencies ended little changed to lower against the dollar. India’s benchmark BSE Sensex ended little changed. India's government bonds ended little changed, while shorter tenure notes gained today. In the forward segment 1mth, 3mth, 6mth and 12mth annualized premium ended the session at 4.13%, 4.04%, 3.75% and 3.50% respectively.
Sterling edged lower against the dollar in early European hours on Thursday. British finance minister Philip Hammond said Brussels might insist on a long delay to Brexit if the U.K. government requests an extension to the process. May said on Wednesday lawmakers would need to agree a way forward before an extension could be obtained. An extension would need to be agreed unanimously with all other 27 EU member states, some of which have already said they don't want one. Meanwhile, growth in China's industrial output fell to a 17-year low in the first two months of the year, pointing to further weakness in the world's second-biggest economy. Pressured by weak demand at home and abroad, China's industrial output rose 5.3% in January-February, less than expected and the slowest pace since early 2002. The downbeat data is likely to trigger more support measures from Beijing, which has been ramping up assistance in an effort to stabilize the economy. U.S. stock index futures inched up ahead of another fresh round of economic data. Weekly jobless claims and import prices for February, New home sales for January will be released today. Elsewhere, European shares hit a five-month high in morning trading, with most sectors in positive territory.
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