Rupee ended lower, Pound steady vs. Dollar

Wednesday,   13-Nov-2019   05:30 PM (IST)

The Indian rupee ended the session lower at intraday low of 72.09/10 levels compared to its opening at 71.75/76 levels as foreign banks stepped up dollar purchases and outflows from local shares weighed. Weak IIP data, a global risk-off and weak local shares, have also added pressure on rupee. Rupee traded in the range of 71.6550-72.09 levels today. Most Asian currencies fell against the dollar, with the Chinese Yuan falling to a one-week low of 7.0270 against the dollar today. Disappointing IIP figures for September, cautiousness ahead of the release of CPI inflation data for October and growing worries over US-China trade deal talks sent the benchmark indices over half a per cent lower on Wednesday. The S&P BSE Sensex slid 229 points or 0.57 per cent to end at 40,116 levels while NSE's Nifty50 index slipped below 11,850-mark to end at 11,840, down 73 points or 0.61 per cent. Indian government bonds rose for the first time in four sessions, as contraction in industrial production for a second straight month strengthened bets of more monetary easing. In the forward segment 1mth, 3mth and 6mth annualized premia ended the day at 3.28%, 3.38% and 3.88% respectively.

The New Zealand dollar provided the standout performance in otherwise unremarkable currency markets on Wednesday as it stood set to notch its biggest daily gain in a year after the central bank stunned investors by keeping interest rates on hold. EUR/USD is consolidating its losses above 1.10 as markets await US CPI and Fed Chair Powell's all-important testimony on Capitol Hill. Concerns about US-Sino relations weigh on markets. GBP/USD is trading around 1.2850, as UK opinion polls are showing contradictory results. UK CPI fell to 1.5% in October, worse than expected and weighing on the pound. The AUD/USD pair spiked to a session high of 0.6857 in the early trading hours of the Asian session supported by a sharp upsurge witnessed in the positively-correlated NZD//USD pair following the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's surprise decision to keep its policy rate unchanged. However, with the resurfacing worries over the United States (US)-China trade conflict making it difficult for the AUD to preserve its strength, the pair reversed its direction in the early trading hours of the European session and slumped to its lowest level in two weeks at 0.6823.