MUMBAI, July 31 (Reuters) – The Indian rupee is likely to open largely unchanged near its record low on Wednesday and trade in a tight band ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision due later in the day.
Non-deliverable forwards indicate the rupee will open at around 83.71-83.72 against the U.S. dollar, nearly unchanged from its previous close of 83.7275. The rupee had declined to a record low of 83.74 on Monday.
The dollar index was down slightly at 104.3, while most Asian currencies nudged higher, with the offshore Chinese yuan up 0.1% at 7.23.
“Month-end dollar inflows and lower crude oil prices could support the rupee (on Wednesday),” said Dilip Parmar, a foreign exchange research analyst at HDFC Securities.
Brent crude oil futures have fallen 8% so far in July and were last quoted at $79.30 per barrel.
With the Fed widely expected to keep rates unchanged, investors will focus on remarks from Chair Jerome Powell for cues on the future path of policy rates.
Interest rate futures are currently pricing in about 68 basis points worth of rate cuts over 2024, starting in September.
“The Fed should leave the door ajar to lower interest rates without endorsing the futures market’s aggressive bet on a September cut,” DBS Bank said in a note.
Traders will also watch out for equity-related outflows that may pressure the rupee, with overseas investors having sold more than $650 million worth of local stocks on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.
KEY INDICATORS:
** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 83.79; onshore one-month forward premium at 8.25 paisa
** Dollar index at 104.4
** Brent crude futures up 0.9% at $79.30
** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.14%
** As per NSDL data, foreign investors net sold $325.5 million worth of Indian shares on July 29
** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $285.4mln worth of Indian bonds on July 29
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Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
