Rupee steady after initial dip; implied volatility softens
MUMBAI, June 3 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee held steady on Tuesday after a slight dip at open, while implied volatility eased further as traders awaited key domestic and U.S. events this week.
The currency slipped past 85.50 at open, down about 15 paisa from Monday, hitting a low of 85.56. The currency has been rangebound post that and was last quoting at 85.47 to the U.S. dollar.
"The rupee has been trading in a relatively narrow range last few days, and today appears no different," said a currency trader at a private bank.
"It's essentially a wait-and-watch scenario now, with markets looking for either flows or headlines to provide a directional cue."
The dollar was broadly under pressure, weighed down by concerns over the U.S. fiscal deficit and lingering uncertainty around trade policy. However, the rupee failed to capitalise on the modest uptick on most Asian currencies.
The rupee's implied volatility has been sliding lower, thanks to the rangebound spot. The 1-month implied volatility is now at 5%, having peaked at over 7% in the second week of May.
Traders highlighted two key events on their radar this week - the Reserve Bank of India's policy decision on Friday and the U.S. non-farm payrolls report scheduled for the same day.
The RBI is widely expected to cut rates for the third straight meeting on Friday given the benign inflation backdrop. Later that day, the U.S. non-farm payrolls report for May could influence expectations around potential Federal Reserve rate cuts, depending on the strength of labour market data.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
3 hours ago
- NBC News
Fed 'Beige Book' economic report cites declining growth, rising prices and slow hiring
The U.S. economy has contracted over the past six weeks as hiring has slowed and consumers and businesses worried about tariff-related price increases, according to a Federal Reserve report Wednesday. In its periodic 'Beige Book' summary of conditions, the central bank noted that 'economic activity has declined slightly since the previous report' released April 23. 'All Districts reported elevated levels of economic and policy uncertainty, which have led to hesitancy and a cautious approach to business and household decisions,' the report added. Hiring was 'little changed' across most of the Fed's 12 districts, with seven describing employment as 'flat' amid widespread growth in applicants and lower turnover rates. 'All Districts described lower labor demand, citing declining hours worked and overtime, hiring pauses, and staff reduction plans. Some Districts reported layoffs in certain sectors, but these layoffs were not pervasive,' the report said. On inflation, the report described prices as rising 'at a moderate pace.' 'There were widespread reports of contacts expecting costs and prices to rise at a faster rate going forward. A few Districts described these expected cost increases as strong, significant, or substantial,' it said. 'All District reports indicated that higher tariff rates were putting upward pressure on costs and prices.' There were disparities, however, over expectations for how much prices would rise, with some businesses saying they might reduce profit margins or add 'temporary fees or surcharges.' 'Contacts that plan to pass along tariff-related costs expect to do so within three months,' the report said. The report covers a period of a shifting landscape for President Donald Trump's tariffs. In early May, Trump said he would relax so-called reciprocal tariffs against China, which responded in kind, helping to set off a rally on Wall Street amid hopes the duties would not be as draconian as initially feared. However, fears linger over the inflationary impact as well as whether hiring and the broader economy would slow because of slowdowns associated with the tariffs. Tariffs were mentioned 122 times in Thursday's report, compared to 107 times in April. Regionally, Boston, New York and Philadelphia all reported declining economic activity. Richmond, Atlanta and Chicago were among the districts reporting better growth. In New York specifically, the Fed found 'heightened uncertainty' and input prices that 'grew strongly with tariff-inducted cost increases. Richmond reported a slight increase in hiring despite Trump's efforts to trim the federal government payroll.
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Toyota & Lexus new cars for 2025 revealed including rugged RAV4 update, hybrid Aygo and sharp-looking ES saloon
'IF you want to catch a lot of fish, set out many fishing rods,' a wise man in the motor industry once said. Toyota is definitely following that advice. 5 So any potential customer swimming into a Toyota dealership will find a huge range of cars ready to hook them. It's working. Sales of Toyota and its posher Lexus arm keep growing. A cascade of new cars and updates will likely keep the momentum going into next year. The RAV4 family SUV is a massive seller and returns next year as a plug-in hybrid only. It should be economical when running on petrol alone. But if you can find somewhere to plug in, the electric range is now a very handy 62 milles. The angular new body has a proper rugged look to it, standing out from the crop of softy crossovers it competes against. Toyota keeps driving down the cost of hybrids. At the end of the year it will relaunch its baby Aygo X as a hybrid instead of pure-petrol. That will have the lowest consumption and CO2 rating of any car without a plug. Toyota offers $25k discount off brand new model until June 2 – but the rebate depends on where shoppers live So the hybrid system is still a massive part of Toyota's success. When hybrid arrived here in the Prius at the turn of the millennium, it was a minority sport. Gradually it went mainstream, spreading across nearly all Toyota and Lexus models. So much so that the company took flak for not jumping from there on to the full-electric car bandwagon. Now that caution looks wise. The speed of changeover to EVs is softening, and the legal push to ban hybrids is paused five years to 2035. Shifting predictions for EVs are affecting Toyota-Lexus too. 5 For some years, the plan was to build standalone electric cars, wholly different from the hybrids. But that's going to change. Andrea Carlucci, European marketing boss, told me the plan now is to build cars that you can buy as either full-electric or hybrid. Selling completely separate hybrid and EV models, he says, 'causes a complexity challenge', confusing buyers and choking dealerships. 'We should simplify the number of silhouettes.' So Lexus is launching its sharp-looking new luxury saloon, the ES, in both a hybrid and a 330-mile electric. In the UK the plan is we'll get the electric only, but no doubt that could alter if the politics of EVs change again. Inside, it's luxurious but with a clean Japanese-garden feel. The door trim looks like back-illuminated bamboo. But despite the new plan for dual-powertrain cars, there are still a bunch of pure battery cars in the launch phase. The small one is the Urban Cruiser, on sale shortly. It'll be followed by the C-HR+, which looks, and is, different from the C-HR hybrid. All those two share is a general theme: both are compact coupe-crossovers. For families wanting more space as well as battery power, Toyota will add a Touring estate version to the bZ4X electric crossover. That's spring next year. The all-electric Lexus RZ gets an update next year, including steer-by-wire using an aircraft-style yoke instead of a steering wheel, plus fake 'gearbox' effects to make driving a single-speed EV feel more interesting. More like a petrol car, in other words.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
BBC Learning English - Learning English from the News / 50% adults overweight or obese by 2050: Global study
(Photo via Getty Images) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The story More than half of all adults and a third of children, teenagers and young adults around the world are predicted to be overweight or obese by 2050. The findings come from a new study of global data, covering more than 200 countries, published in The Lancet, a well-known British medical journal. Researchers warn that if trends continue, global rates of overweight and obese adults would increase significantly, particularly in Asia and Africa, where populations are growing. Experts say that if governments take urgent action now, there is still time to prevent what they describe as a "profound tragedy". News headlines How global obesity epidemic is set to get a whole lot worse South China Morning Post 'Unparalleled threat' of death: Over 50% of adults worldwide will be overweight by 2050 Wion Shocking number of Brits who will be obese by 2050 revealed in damning study The Sun Key words and phrases a whole lot very much Layla seems a whole lot happier in her new house. unparalleled there's nothing like it The new genetic technology is currently unparalleled. damning indicates something is very negative The critic gave the film a damning review. They said it was the worst movie of the year. Next If you like learning English from the news, click here.
