Rupee opened tad higher, Dollar up vs. major currencies

Tuesday,   23-Apr-2019   09:03 AM (IST)

The Indian rupee opened the day tad higher at 69.62/63 levels compared to its previous close at 69.67/68 levels ahead of second $5 billion 3-year forex swap auction. Market participants will closely watch the near-term forward premiums following the swap auction. April 25 value date for first leg of auction. Indian government bonds open lower as crude oil prices rise, with benchmark Brent crude oil contract nearing $75 per barrel. The indices opened higher today with the S&P BSE Sensex trading over 150 points higher and the Nifty scaling the 11,600 level. At 9:27 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 38,816, up 170 points, while the broader Nifty50 was at 11,631, up 37 point. As per the technical indicators range for the USDINR pair may be 69.25-69.85 levels. Rupee has an immediate support at 69.75 levels. A breach of the same may see rupee at 69.85 followed by 69.98 levels. On the positive side rupee is likely to face resistance at 69.45 levels and if it is able to break the same then it may gain up to 69.29 levels followed by 69.09 levels.

The dollar edged up against a basket of key rivals on Tuesday, while the Canadian dollar was supported by rising crude oil prices due to U.S. plans to tighten a clampdown on Iranian oil exports from next month. Financial markets in Australia and New Zealand reopened after the long Easter holiday, and were set to reopen across Europe later in the day. The dollar index against a basket of six key rivals was a shade higher at 97.336, edging toward the 2019 high of 97.71 struck in early March. The greenback has firmed in recent weeks on the back of higher U.S. 10-year Treasury yields and signs of strength in the U.S. economy following a weak start of the year. Data released overnight showed U.S. existing home sales fell more than expected in March amid supply constraints, and figures for new home sales will be released later in the global day. While those may provide some pointers to the state of the U.S. economy, a clearer picture should emerge from the gross domestic product report set for release on Friday. Against the yen, the dollar gave up a tenth of a percent to 111.80 yen, moving off a high for this year of 112.17 hit last Wednesday. The Australian dollar drifted 0.1 percent lower to $0.7128 percent ahead of the release of first-quarter inflation data due on Wednesday. The greenback’s moves against the euro and sterling were small, with the single currency slightly lower at $1.1249 and the pound up a tad at $1.2985. The Canadian dollar held firm after oil prices rallied to near six-month highs overnight on news that Washington plans to eliminate waivers next month for eight countries to buy Iranian oil without facing U.S. sanctions. With the jump in the price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, the loonie was down slightly at $0.7485, holding most of the previous session’s gains of over a third of a percent.