• Rupee Declines Sharply To Near 79.70 Per Dollar, Tracking Risk Off Bets Globally

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    Rupee Declines Sharply To Near 79.70 Per Dollar, Tracking Risk Off Bets Globally

    The Indian rupee began trading on the interbank foreign exchange market at 79.60 and fluctuated between 79.60 and 79.71...


    Digital Desk: The rupee fell dramatically against the dollar on Thursday, mirroring a widespread sell-off in global risk assets even as domestic equities resisted the trend.


    As per Bloomberg, the rupee was last trading at 79.6800 per dollar, down approximately 23 paise from its previous closing of 79.4475.


    The Indian rupee began trading on the interbank foreign exchange market at 79.60 and fluctuated between 79.60 and 79.71 throughout the day before ending at 79.64 against the greenback, down 19 paise from its previous close.


    Reuters said that the partially convertible rupee finished the session at 79.6725 after briefly playing at the crucial 79.70 mark. On Wednesday, the local unit closed at 79.4450.


    Since there are no impending significant events, traders generally anticipate the rupee to stay in the 79-80 region for at least another week.


    "Depending on the sentiment, there is choppiness within that broad range. A 25-30 paise broad rise one day is covered the next, indicating volatility within this range," Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst at Motilal Oswal, told Reuters.


    He said that "we expect the USD/INR (Spot) to move sideways and quote in the region of 79.20 and 79.80" after US central bank officials pledged to hike rates as high as required to contain inflation.


    Asia's emerging markets, which are the region's economic engine, were generally in a depressing mood. The Chinese yuan maintained its recent poor performance with a 0.2% drop to a three-month low.


    On Thursday, the rupee experienced no relief from falling oil prices as the dollar rose to a three-week high.


    The dollar increased 0.2% in the direction of a three-week high hit earlier this week after Federal Reserve meeting minutes from July suggested the central bank would maintain hiking rates to control inflation.


    The minutes of the Fed's July meeting showed that the central bank was contemplating paring back the pace of future rate hikes in line with a slowdown in inflation but saw "little evidence" yet that pressures were easing.


    Currently, traders are pricing in a probability of 57.5 percent for a September 50-basis-point rate hike by the Fed and a probability of 42.5 percent for a 75-basis-point increase.


    Despite Wall Street's efforts to limit losses after the Fed minutes, the dollar remained strong and Asian markets fell further on Thursday.


    Due to a stronger dollar and sizzling inflation data released the day before that fueled concerns about the UK GDP outlook, sterling temporarily fell below the $1.2 level to a three-week low.


    The dollar inched up on the yen to trade at 135.25 yen, barely off its overnight one-week high, while the pound fell 0.3% to $1.2015 and the euro lost 0.2% to $1.0157.


    The dollar index increased 0.22 percent to 106.89, reaching its highest level since late July.


    "The wider picture for the dollar is that it's in a solid uptrend," Matt Simpson, a senior analyst at brokerage City Index in Brisbane, told Reuters, adding that it has now paused a weeks-long retreat.


    "Bulls are sort of looking to get back in, and I think the Fed minutes offered them a cause to do so."


    However, domestic equity benchmarks resisted that bleak global trend and continued their bull run for a fifth week to reach four-month highs.