Rupee ended higher, Euro lower vs. Dollar

Tuesday,   18-Jun-2019   05:28 PM (IST)

The Indian rupee ended the session higher at 69.70/71 levels compared to its opening at 69.83/84 levels after touching the high of 69.63/64 levels as bets over the U.S. Federal Reserve adopting an easing bias at its upcoming policy meeting increased, and as lower oil prices continued to support the local unit. Private Banks also stepped up greenback sales in late trade. Rupee traded in the range of 69.63-69.8750 levels today. Indian government bonds jumped, with the benchmark note ending the day at a record high while the 10-year yield fell to its lowest in 20 months, as sentiment remained bullish ahead of the Federal Reserve rate decision tomorrow. Indian shares ended higher led by gains in IT and oil marketing companies, ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting that begins later in the day. The broader Nifty ended 0.17% higher at 11,691.50, while the benchmark Sensex closed up 0.22% at 39,046.34. In the forward segment 1mth, 3mth and 6mth annualized premia ended the day at 5.10%, 4.65% and 4.53% respectively.

EUR/USD has dropped below 1.1200 as ECB President Mario Draghi said cutting rates remain part of the toolkit. He also opened the door to more QE and other measures. The pair lost further momentum after the ZEW survey disappointed expectations for the current month, in line with previous gauges of sentiment and confidence in the region. In fact, the Economic Sentiment in the broader Euro land fell to -20.2, while the same gauge in Germany tumbled to -21.1. In addition German Current Conditions surprised to the upside at 7.8, albeit easing from May’s 8.2. Further data in the euro area saw headline consumer prices rising 1.2% on a year to May, while consumer prices stripping food and energy costs rose 0.8% from a year earlier. In the meantime, EUR remains well into the negative territory today following the dovish appreciations from President Mario Draghi at the ECB Forum in Sintra followed by the above-mentioned data releases. GBP/USD is trading below 1.2550, close to the fresh five-month low of 1.2511. Conservatives will vote in the second round of their leadership contest. Boris Johnson is set to win again.