Rupee slips lower after opening almost flat, Dollar steady vs. major currencies
Friday,
12-Jul-2019
09:02 AM (IST)
The Indian rupee opened the day almost flat at 68.45/46 levels compared to its previous close at 68.44/45 levels and slips lower to 68.53/54 levels in early deals as quicker-than-expected US core inflation boosts Treasury yields. India’s May IIP and June retail inflation data is due later today. Indian government bonds fall in early session as traders book profit ahead of fresh supply of debt later today and as rise in U.S. Treasury yields weighs. At 9:22 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 38,863, up 40 point, while the broader Nifty50 was at 11,581, down 2 point. As per the technical indicators range for the USDINR pair may be 68.25-68.65 levels. Rupee has an immediate support at 68.58 levels. A breach of the same may see rupee at 68.69 followed by 68.84 levels. On the positive side rupee is likely to face resistance at 68.32 levels and if it is able to break the same then it may gain up to 68.19 levels followed by 68.09 levels.
The dollar was steady on Friday, having regained some traction against its peers after stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data tempered the prospect of an aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate cut later this month. The core U.S. consumer price index excluding food and energy components rose 0.3% in June, the largest increase since January 2018, data on Thursday showed. The signs of a pick-up in underlying inflation, along with separate data on weekly jobless claims showing the labor market remained solid, curbed financial market expectations of a more aggressive 50 basis point cut at the Fed's July 30-31 meeting. Markets are still fully priced for a quarter percentage point cut as U.S. policymakers seek to support a slowing economy. The dollar was little changed at 108.490 yen after rebounding from a low of 107.860 plumbed on Thursday in response to dovish comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, which had revived the chance of a 50 basis-point cut. The dollar index stood little changed at 99.96 after retracing much of its losses on Thursday, when it had briefly stooped to a six-day low of 96.795. The euro was flat at $1.1254, having pulled back from a high of $1.1285 scaled on Thursday prior to the U.S. inflation data. The Australian dollar dipped 0.05% to $0.6972 after gaining 0.2% the previous day. The U.S. Treasury 10-year yield, which often dictates the direction of the dollar, was at 2.134% after jumping 8 basis points overnight on the strong U.S. inflation data and a weak 30-year bond auction.
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