Rupee ended higher, Pound gains vs. Dollar

Friday,   16-Aug-2019   05:30 PM (IST)

The Indian rupee ended the session higher at 71.15/16 levels compared to its opening at 71.36/37 levels after touching the high of 71.0450/0550 levels on dollar sales by foreign banks, likely for exporters and amid a rebound in the local shares. Rupee fell in early trading to touch the low of 71.47/48 levels amid a further decline in domestic equities due to global growth concerns. Indian shares ended a tick higher today, powered by gains in banking stocks, but finished lower for the week with trading dominated by headlines about the Sino-U.S. trade conflict and fears of an imminent global recession. The Nifty ended 0.17% higher at 11,047.80, while the Sensex closed 0.10% firmer at 37,350.33. Indian government bonds fell for a second consecutive week on concerns that New Delhi could spend more to support flagging domestic activity and as the local currency continued to depreciate on fears of a global slowdown. In the forward segment 1mth, 3mth and 6mth annualized premia ended the day at 3.57%, 3.81% and 3.89% respectively. India's foreign exchange reserves rose to $430.57 billion, as of Aug. 9, compared with $428.95 billion a week earlier, the Reserve Bank of India said.

The pound gained for a second consecutive day on Friday after a stream of resilient economic data this week calmed sentiment on the health of the UK economy and as opposition parties launched plans to block a no-deal Brexit. British retail sales unexpectedly expanded in July and signalled that consumers were taking the prospect of Brexit in their stride for now, helped by firm wage data and modest inflation pressures, according to data released earlier this week. Further fuelling demand for the British currency, especially against the euro this week, was growing momentum to try to stop Prime Minister Boris Johnson from taking Britain out of the European Union at the end of October without a deal. The euro fell to a two-week low on Friday against the dollar, which extended the gains it made the day before after U.S. retail sales data came out better than expected. The dollar was on course to end the week up against the euro, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc as investors returned to riskier assets. A stable offshore Chinese Yuan helped improve risk appetite.