Rupee strengthens against US dollar ahead of GDP forecast
At 9.15am, the rupee was trading at 63.37 a dollar, up 0.12% from its Thursday’s close of 63.54
The 10-year bond yield was at 7.328% compared to its previous close of 7.333%. Photo: Bloomberg
Mumbai: The Indian rupee was trading at a fresh 29-month high against the US dollar ahead of the gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for fiscal year 2018 due on Friday after 5.30pm.
The rupee opened at 63.36 a dollar and touched a fresh 29-month high of 63.33 a dollar. At 9.15am, the home currency was trading at 63.37 a dollar, up 0.12% from its Thursday’s close of 63.54.
Traders are cautious as the government is due to announce its first official forecast of economic growth after 5.30pm. A Bloomberg survey predicts GDP will grow 6.7% in the year through March 2018, the slowest pace since 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.
Traders are also focused on the key monthly US jobs report later in the day, which is forecast to show that unemployment held at 4.1% in December, reported Bloomberg.
In the year 2017, the rupee gained 6.35% and Sensex rose 28%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $7.73 billion and $23.27 billion in equity and debt, respectively.
Bond yield fell as traders focus on the sale of a new 10-year government security. The 10-year bond yield was at 7.328%, compared to its previous close of 7.333%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The benchmark Sensex rose 0.22%, or 74.51 points, to 34,044.15.
Asian currencies were trading higher. Malaysian ringgit was up 0.38%, Taiwan dollar 0.25%, Philippines peso 0.24%, Thai baht 0.18%, China offshore 0.17%, China renminbi 0.15%, Indonesian rupiah 0.08% and Singapore dollar rose 0.06%. However, Japanese yen was down 0.06%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 91.847, down 0.01%, from its previous close of 91.853.
