Rupee weakens past 72 per US dollar: 5 things to know
The rupee fell beyond 72/US dollar today amid broad dollar strength and a rise in global crude prices.
The rupee (INR) today weakened past the 72 mark against the US dollar (USD) while stock and bond markets rallied. At 1:00 pm, the rupee was trading at 72.01 a dollar while Sensex was up around 400 points and benchmark 10-year bond yield dropped to 7.43%. The rupee had closed at 71.84 on Tuesday. The weakness of the rupee comes amid a broad dollar strength and a rise in crude oil prices on expectations that an OPEC-led output cut for 2019 would stabilise the supply-demand balance.
USD vs INR: 5 things to know
1) Shaktikanta Das today assumed charge as governor of Reserve Bank. Das retired last year as secretary of the department of economic affairs, having previously served on the RBI’s board. The government had moved quickly in appointing a new RBI chief after Urjit Patel resigned from the post on Monday. Traders and analysts broadly expect the monetary policy stance of the central bank to gradually shift towards neutral as inflation numbers have been subdued in recent months.
2) “The policy could turn dovish with rate cut also being a possibility,” forex advisory firm IFA Global said in a note after the appointment of new RBI chief. The rupee could trade in the range of 71.90-72.35 against US dollar in the near term, it added.
3) “The appointment of the new governor is likely to calm investors and ease any uncertainty about the next head of the central bank,” economists at HDFC Bank wrote in a note. Retail inflation data for the month of November will be announced today after market hours today. According to a Reuters poll of economists, inflation is expected to ease to a 16-month low in November, according to a Reuters poll on the back of easing food and fuel prices.
4) Crude oil prices today climbed to $60.85 a barrel on expectations that recent OPEC-led supply cut could support prices in 2019.
5) In currency markets, the British pound fell to near 20-month lows against the US dollar after British Prime Minister Theresa May postponed a crucial vote on her Brexit deal, raising the risk of a chaotic exit from the European Union. The dollar was near a one-month high against its peers today, after a rebound in US Treasury yields bounced. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, stood at 97.38.
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