Pause in dollar rally offers relief to rupee after 86 breach
The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated an open in the 86.00-86.02 range versus 86.0750 on Thursday, marking the rupee's first sub-86 finish in nearly a month.
"Asia will help (the rupee) at the open. However, I'd fade any downside (on USD/INR)," a currency trader at a bank said.
"Positioning and risk-reward favour upside, and this looks (like a) buy-on-dips market right now."
The dollar index fell about 0.2% in Asia to 98.40, helping most Asian currencies climb higher.
The dollar index had rallied on Thursday, approaching the 99 mark, after robust U.S. data spurred expectations that the Federal Reserve will be in no rush to resume rate cuts.
Upbeat U.S. retail sales in June pointed to a pickup in economic activity, while job claims fell to a three-month low, reinforcing signs of steady labour market strength.
U.S. economic data released on Thursday "continues to signal resilience," MUFG Bank said, while noting the muted reaction in U.S. Treasury yields.
Markets were largely unchanged about the Fed outlook, with no major shift in pricing for a September rate cut or the cumulative rate cuts expected in 2025.
Despite the dip in the dollar index on Friday, the gauge is up 0.6% this week after last week's near 1% rally.
Markets continue to hold net short positions on the U.S. dollar, and an unwinding of those short dollar positions could provide support for the U.S. currency, MUFG Bank noted.
KEY INDICATORS:
** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 86.08; onshore one-month forward premium at 10 paise
** Dollar index down at 98.41
** Brent crude futures down 0.1% at $69.5 per barrel
** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.44
** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $121.3 million worth of Indian shares on July 16
** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $3.5 million worth of Indian bonds on July 16
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
15 minutes ago
- Reuters
Japan heads to polls in key test for Prime Minister Ishiba
TOKYO, July 20 (Reuters) - Japanese voters could unleash political turmoil as they head to the polls on Sunday in a tightly contested upper house election, with rising prices and immigration concerns threatening to weaken Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power. Opinion polls suggest Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito may fall short of the 50 seats needed to retain control of the 248-seat upper house of parliament in an election where half the seats are up for grabs. The polls show smaller opposition parties pushing for tax cuts and increased public spending are set to gain, among them the right-wing Sanseito, which vows to curb immigration, oppose foreign capital inflows and reverse gender equality moves. A poor showing by the coalition could shake investor confidence in the world's fourth-largest economy and disrupt critical trade talks with the United States, analysts said. Ishiba may have to choose between making way for a new LDP leader or scrambling to secure the backing of some opposition parties with policy compromises, said Rintaro Nishimura, an associate at the Asia Group in Japan. "Each scenario requires the LDP and Komeito to make certain concessions, and will be challenging, as any potential partner has leverage in the negotiations." After the election, Japan faces a deadline of August 1 to strike a trade deal with the United States or face punishing tariffs in its largest export market. Such import levies could squeeze the economy and further pressure the government to give financial relief to households already reeling from inflation, such as a doubling of rice prices since last year. With an eye on a jittery government bond market, the LDP has called for fiscal restraint, rejecting opposition calls for major tax cuts and welfare spending to soften the blow. Ishiba's administration lost its majority in the more powerful lower house in October. That was the LDP's worst showing in 15 years, roiling financial markets and leaving the prime minister vulnerable to no-confidence motions that could topple his administration and trigger a fresh general election. Ruled by the LDP for most of the post-war period, Japan has so far largely avoided the social division and fracturing of politics seen in other industrialised democracies. Voting ends at 8 p.m. (1100 GMT), when media are expected to project results based on exit polls.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Members only: Inside the new playgrounds of India's rich and famous
For decades, the Indian elite have sought escape in Raj-era private clubs and gymkhanas, scattered around the swankiest neighbourhoods in the country's big cities, hillside resorts and cantonment to these quintessentially "English" enclaves, with their bellboys, butlers, dark mahogany interiors and rigid dress codes, has been reserved for the privileged; the old moneyed who roam the corridors of power - think business tycoons, senior bureaucrats, erstwhile royals, politicians or officers of the armed is where India's rich and powerful have hobnobbed for years, building social capital over cigars or squash and brokering business deals during golf sessions. Today, these spaces can feel strangely anachronistic - relics of a bygone era in a country eager to shed its colonial Asia's third largest economy breeds a new generation of wealth creators, a more modern and less formal avatar of the private members-only club - that reflects the sweeping economic and demographic changes under way in India - is emerging. This is where the newly well-heeled are hanging out and doing business. Demand for such spaces is strong enough for the international chain Soho House to plan two new launches in the capital Delhi and in south Mumbai in the coming months. Their first offering - an ocean-facing club on Mumbai's iconic Juhu Beach - opened six years ago and is wildly chain is one of a host of new club entrants vying to cater to a market that is booming in House started in London in the mid-90s as an antidote to the upscale gentlemen's clubs that lined Pall Mall. It came in as a refreshingly new concept: a more relaxed club for creators, thinkers and creative entrepreneurs, who might have felt like they didn't belong in the enclaves of the old years later, India's flourishing tech-driven economy of start-ups and creators has birthed a nouveau riche that's afforded Soho House exactly another such market opportunity."There's growth in India's young wealth, and young entrepreneurs really need a foundation to platform themselves," Kelly Wardingham, Soho House's Asia regional director, told the BBC. The "new wealthy require different things" from what the traditional gymkhanas the old clubs, Soho House does not either "shut off" or let in people based on their family legacy, status, wealth or gender, she says. Members use the space as a haven to escape the bustle of Mumbai, with its rooftop pool, gym and private screening rooms as well as a plethora of gourmet food options. But they also use it to drive value from a diverse community of potential mentors and investors, or to learn new skills and attend events and Maya, a young filmmaker, says her membership of the house in Mumbai - a city "where one is always jostling for space and a quiet corner in a cramped cafe" - has given her rare access to the movers and shakers of Mumbai's film industry - which might otherwise have been impossible for someone like her "without generational privilege".In fact, for years, traditional gymkhanas were closed off for the creative community. The famous Bollywood actor, the late Feroz Khan, once asked a gymkhana club in Mumbai for membership, only to be politely refused, as they didn't admit taken aback by their snootiness, is said to have quipped, "If you'd watched my movies, you would know I am not much of an actor."By contrast, Soho House proudly flaunts Bollywood star Ali Fazal, a member, on its in-house magazine cover. But beyond just a more modern, democratic ethos, high demand for these clubs is also a factor of the limited supply of the traditional gymkhanas, which are still very sought queues at most of them can extend "up to many years," and supply hasn't caught up to serve the country's "new crop of self-made businessmen, creative geniuses and high-flying corporate honchos", according to Ankit Kansal of Axon Developers, which recently released a report on the rise of new members-only mismatch has led to more than two dozen new club entrants - including independent ones like Quorum and BVLD, as well as those backed by global hospitality brands like St Regis and Four Seasons - opening in India. At least half a dozen more are on their way in the next few years, according to Axon market, the report says, is growing at nearly 10% every year, with Covid having become a big turning point, as the wealthy chose to avoid public these spaces mark significant shifts, with their progressive membership policies and patronage of the arts, literary and independent music scene they are very much still "sanctums of modern luxury", says Axon, with admission given out by invite only or through referrals, and costing several times more than the monthly income of most Soho House for instance, annual membership is 320,000 Indian rupees ($3,700; $2,775) - beyond what most people can afford. What's changed is that membership is based on personal accomplishment and future potential rather than family pedigree. A new self-made elite has replaced the old inheritors - but access remains largely out of reach for the average middle-class Indian. In a way the rising take-up for these memberships reflects India's broader post-liberalisation growth story – when the country opened up to the world and discarded its socialist galloped, but the rich became the biggest beneficiaries, growing even richer as inequality reached gaping proportions. It's why the country's luxury market has boomed, even as the high street struggles with tepid demand, with most Indians without money to spend on anything beyond the growing numbers of newly-minted rich present a big business 797,000 high-net worth individuals are set to double in number within a couple of years - a fraction of a population of 1.4 billion, but enough to drive future growth for those building new playgrounds for the wealthy to unwind, network and live the high BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook.
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Reuters
Japan heads to polls in key test for PM Ishiba
TOKYO, July 20 (Reuters) - Japanese voters could unleash political turmoil as they head to the polls on Sunday in a tightly contested upper house election, with rising prices and immigration concerns threatening to weaken Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power. Opinion polls suggest Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito may fall short of the 50 seats needed to retain control of the 248-seat upper house of parliament in an election where half the seats are up for grabs. The polls show smaller opposition parties pushing for tax cuts and increased public spending are set to gain, among them the right-wing Sanseito, which vows to curb immigration, oppose foreign capital inflows and reverse gender equality moves. A poor showing by the coalition could shake investor confidence in the world's fourth-largest economy and disrupt critical trade talks with the United States, analysts said. Ishiba may have to choose between making way for a new LDP leader or scrambling to secure the backing of some opposition parties with policy compromises, said Rintaro Nishimura, an associate at the Asia Group in Japan. "Each scenario requires the LDP and Komeito to make certain concessions, and will be challenging, as any potential partner has leverage in the negotiations." After the election Japan faces a deadline of August 1 to strike a trade deal with the United States or face punishing tariffs in its largest export market. Such import levies could squeeze the economy and further pressure the government to give financial relief to households already reeling from inflation, such as a doubling of rice prices since last year. With an eye on a jittery government bond market, the LDP has called for fiscal restraint, rejecting opposition calls for major tax cuts and welfare spending to soften the blow. Ishiba's administration lost its majority in the more powerful lower house in October. As the LDP's worst showing in 15 years, the outcome roiled financial markets and left the prime minister vulnerable to no-confidence motions that could topple his administration and trigger a fresh general election. Ruled by the LDP for most of the post-war period, Japan has so far largely avoided the social division and fracturing of politics seen in other industrialised democracies. Voting ends at 8 p.m. (1100 GMT), when media are expected to project results based on exit polls.
