Rupee ended higher, Euro higher vs. Dollar

Monday,   22-Apr-2019   05:27 PM (IST)

The Indian rupee ended the session higher at 69.67/68 levels compared to its opening at 69.75/76 levels after touching the high of 69.5075/5175 levels on bunched-up dollar inflows after a long weekend. In early deals rupee touched the low of 69.87/88 levels as Brent crude surged on the back of a report that the U.S. will end waivers of sanctions on oil imports from Iran. There were dollar buying by importers. Rupee traded in the range of 69.5075-69.87 levels today. Most Asian currencies ended mixed against the greenback. Losses in financial and energy stocks led Indian share markets to their worst day in 2019 on Monday, battered by rising oil prices that also pushed the rupee to a six-week low. The benchmark BSE Sensex closed down 1.26 percent at 38,645.18, while the broader NSE Nifty ended 1.35 percent lower at 11,594.45. Both indexes saw their worst session since Dec. 21. Indian government bonds fell for a second day, with the benchmark note closing at its lowest level since issuance, tracking higher crude oil prices and a slump in the local currency. In the forward segment 1mth, 3mth and 6mth annualized premia ended the day at 5.65%, 4.80% and 4.44% respectively.

The recovery in the EUR/USD pair from near 1.1235 lows appears to have gained traction in the European trading, as the bulls now look to regain control above the 1.1250 barrier amid renewed US dollar weakness across the board and ahead of the US existing homes sales data. The GBP/USD pair continues to consolidate in a 10-pips slim range below 1.3000 so far this session, as the bulls lack momentum amid no fresh catalysts and marginal volatility. Next of relevance is US data while the key UK cross-party Brexit talks remain in focus this week.