Rupee opened almost flat, Dollar higher vs. major currencies

Friday,   14-Aug-2020   10:41 AM (IST)

The Indian rupee opened the day flat at 74.85/86 levels compared to its previous close at 74.84/85 levels amid focus on India inflation print and US data. India's federal government bond yields jump, with benchmark 10-year yield rising to 10-week high, as retail inflation rises more than expected, hurting hopes of more rate cuts. Equity markets edged up half a per cent on Friday ahead of the SC hearing on telcos' AGR dues later in the day. At 10:05 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 38,484 up 174 point, while the broader Nifty50 was at 11,352 up 51 point. As per the technical indicators range for the USDINR pair may be 74.65-75.05 levels. Rupee has an immediate support at 74.93 levels. A breach of the same may see rupee at 75.04 followed by 75.15 levels. On the positive side rupee is likely to face resistance at 74.77 levels and if it is able to break the same then it may gain up to 74.69 levels followed by 74.58 levels.

The dollar drifted higher on Friday, helped by strong U.S. jobs data as well as firmer global demand for safe-havens amid concerns about the coronavirus recovery, setting the currency up to potentially snap a seven-week losing streak. Soft Chinese retail and production figures cast a pall over the mood in Asia, dragging on the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars. The Aussie was last 0.2% softer at $0.7138 and has settled in to a range around that level after pulling back from a 18-month high hit a week ago. The kiwi was under pressure at $0.6537 as the country also faces a fresh COVID-19 outbreak and after dovish comments from the central bank this week. Other majors were mostly flat, but the euro hovered above $1.18. China's industrial output rose more slowly than expected in July and retail sales fell for a seventh straight month, suggesting some bumps in even the world's most promising rebound. Troubling signs also emerged on the health front in Asia, with a dozen new cases in New Zealand - which is considering whether to ease or extend its lockdown of Auckland - and the biggest daily jump in new cases in South Korea since March. Overnight the weekly number of applications for unemployment benefits in the United States dropped below one million for the first time since the start of the pandemic, with 963,000 claims coming in below expectations for 1.1 million. But beyond buoying the dollar any relief was shortlived, as some 30 million Americans are out of work and an aid package to keep stimulus flowing in the economy has stalled in Congress. Against a basket of currencies the dollar remains 0.1% lower for the week, but it has appeared to arrest a slide that has it about 9.5% below its March peak.