BackRupee closes stronger against US dollar at 66.78
The rupee strengthened against the US dollar, after local equity markets gained over 360 points
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Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Friday strengthened against the US dollar, after local equity markets gained over 360 points. This is the eighth out of nine trading sessions when the rupee closed higher.
The home currency closed at 66.78 a dollar, up 0.22% from its previous close of 66.92. The rupee opened at 66.92 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 66.75 and 66.92, respectively.
Traders are cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) bi-monthly policy on 9 August. Outgoing RBI governor Raghuram Rajan is likely to keep interest rates on hold on Tuesday, leaving it to his successor to decide if inflation is subsiding enough after the monsoon season to make another cut, according to a Reuters poll.
India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 1.31%, or 363.98 points, to close at 28,078.35. So far this year, it gained 7.51%.
So far this year, the rupee is down 0.93%, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have bought $4.78 billion in equity market and sold $1.06 billion in debt market.
Meanwhile, India’s 10-year bond yield closed at 7.168%, as compared with its Thursday’s close of 7.171%.
Asian currencies followed a rise in Asian and global stock prices on Friday after the Bank of England (BoE) launched a potent post-Brexit stimulus campaign, but some caution before a big US jobs report limited gains.
An overnight rally in crude oil prices also sharpened risk appetites, while sterling nursed deep losses after sliding on news of the Bank of England (BoE) stimulus plan. BoE said it would take “whatever action is necessary" to achieve stability in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, Reuters reported.
Taiwan dollar was up 0.57%, Malaysian ringgit 0.53%, Philippines peso 0.32%, South Korean won 0.31%, Indonesian rupiah 0.2%, Thai baht 0.2%, Japanese yen 0.2% and Singapore dollar 0.1%. However, China offshore spot was down 0.06%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.609, down 0.16% from its previous close of 95.758.
Traders are also awaiting US jobs data. Economists polled by Reuters are looking for US non-farm employment to have risen by 180,000 in July, while the unemployment rate is forecast to edge down to 4.8% from June’s 4.9%. The official payrolls numbers are due at 6pm on Friday.
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