Skip to main content

Rupee pares gains, slips back to 74 levels

The domestic unit on Monday slumped 30 paise to finish at a fresh lifetime low of 74.06 amid strengthening of the greenback and steady capital outflows. The rupee on Tuesday slipped back to 74 levels after opening 18 paise higher at 73.88 against the US dollar. The domestic unit fell up to 74.02 in the early trade. At 09:44 am, the currency was trading at 73.98 against the greenback. Earlier, after crashing to a fresh record low of 74.06 on Monday, the rupee recovered a bit and opened 18 paise up at 73.88 against the US dollar on Tuesday. The domestic unit on Monday slumped 30 paise to finish at a fresh lifetime low of 74.06 amid strengthening of the greenback and steady capital outflows. It was the 6th straight session of rupee depreciating against the dollar.
Foreign institutional investors (FII) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 4,419 crore on October 5, 2018. FIIs have been net sellers to the more than Rs 11,405 crore in October 2018, according to a note by ICICI Securities. "Indian Rupee is expected to trade with a negative bias amid a strong dollar and rising crude oil prices. Demand for the dollar is going up on solid economic data from the US and, as US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 bps and signalled further monetary tightening," said Saif Mukadam, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas. Mukadam further said that traders will remain cautious ahead of the macroeconomic data, US Treasury currency report and IMF meeting.
The domestic unit crashed below the 74-mark for the first time ever in intra-day trade on October 5 after the RBI unexpectedly kept the policy rate unchanged. Markets were caught off guard as the Reserve Bank maintained the status quo on the benchmark interest rate. However, the central bank warned that rising oil prices and the tightening of global financial conditions pose substantial risks to growth and inflation. On the global front, Asian shares hit 17-month lows on Tuesday as China allowed its currency to slip past a psychological bulwark amid sharp losses in domestic share markets, a shift that pressured other emerging currencies to depreciate to stay competitive. MSCIā€™s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased another 0.2 per cent after ending Monday at its lowest point since May last year. Japanā€™s Nikkei fell 1.2 per cent, hurt in part by a rise in the safe-harbour yen, said a Reuters report.
Oil prices rose as more evidence emerged that crude exports from Iran, OPECā€™s third-largest producer, are declining in the run-up to the re-imposition of US sanctions and as a hurricane moved across the Gulf of Mexico.
The Business Standard,09th October 2018

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

GST collection for November rises by 8.5% to Rs.1.82 trillion

  New Delhi: Driven by festive demand, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for the Union and state governments climbed to Rs.1.82 trillion in November, marking an 8.5% year-on-year growth, according to official data released on Sunday. Sequentially, however, the latest collection figures are lower than the Rs.1.87 trillion reported in October, which was the second highest reported so far since the new indirect tax regime was introduced in 2017. The highest-ever GST collection of Rs.2.1 trillion was reported in April. The consumption tax figures highlight the positive impact of the recent festive season on goods purchases, providing a much-needed boost the industry had been anticipating. The uptick in GST collections driven by festive demand had been anticipated by policymakers, who remain optimistic about sustained growth in rural consumption and an improvement in urban demand. The Ministry of Finance, in its latest monthly economic review released last week, stated that I...

Budget: Startup sector gets new Fund of Funds, FM to allocate Rs 10K cr

  The Indian startup sector received a boost with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing the establishment of a new fund of funds (FoF) in the Budget 2025. The minister unveiled a fresh FoF with an expanded scope, allocating Rs 10,000 crore. The initial fund of funds announced by the government with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore successfully catalysed commitments worth Rs 91,000 crore, the minister said.   ā€œThe renewal of the Rs 10,000 crore commitment to the Fund of Funds for alternative investment funds (AIFs) is a significant step forward for the Indian startup and investment ecosystem. The initial Rs 10,000 crore commitment catalysed Rs 91,000 crore in investments, and I fully expect this fresh infusion to attract an additional Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh crore in capital,ā€ said Anirudh Damani, managing partner, Artha Venture Funds.   Damani further added that this initiative will provide much-needed growth capital to early-stage startups, further strengthenin...

RBI to weigh growth slowdown, inflation at its MPC meeting this December

  Despite GDP growth declining to 5.4 per cent in the Julyā€“September quarter, the Reserve Bank of Indiaā€™s (RBI) six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) is expected to maintain the current repo rate during its review meeting this week, according to a Business Standard survey of 10 respondents. Among the respondents, only IDFC First Bank forecast a 25-basis-point (bps) reduction in the repo rate. Since May 2022, the RBI has raised the repo rate by 250 bps to 6.5 per cent as of February 2023 and has held it steady across the last 10 policy reviews. The latest GDP figures, published on Friday (November 29), showed that growth for Q2 FY25 slowed to 5.4 per cent year-on-year, down from 6.7 per cent in Q1. Most survey participants suggested that the RBI might revise its growth and inflation projections for the financial year. The poll indicated that the central bank could lower its growth estimate from the current 7.2 per cent and increase its inflation forecast, currently at 4.5 per c...