Latest news with #VarunHK
Mint
21-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Indian rupee lags behind Asian peers as foreign banks dollar bids weigh
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Indian rupee closed nearly flat on Wednesday, trailing behind its Asian peers as the impact of a weaker U.S. dollar was blunted by strong demand for the greenback from foreign banks, likely on behalf of custodial clients. The rupee closed at 85.6375 per dollar, compared to its previous close at 85.6350. Other Asian currencies rose between 0.1% to 0.6% as the dollar index drooped to a two-week low before paring losses to last quote at 99.6. The dollar has been weighed down by concerns about U.S. fiscal policy and fading optimism about cooling of trade tensions, as investors await details on signs of progress on trade talks. "The tendency to add to USD short positions has been clear, even though the greenback remains notably undervalued against most G10 currencies when judged by short-term drivers such as rates and equity differentials," ING Bank said in a note. While this has helped boost most emerging market currencies, the rupee has been lagging amid strong local dollar demand, which traders reckon was spurred by immediate corporate payments and foreign portfolio outflows. India's benchmark equity indexes, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.5% each, pulling back from earlier gains of as much as 1%, while the benchmark 10-year bond yield edged lower. Dollar-rupee forward premiums dipped, as U.S. bond yields stuck to their recent uptrend. The 1-year dollar-rupee implied yield eased to 2.02%, its lowest level in over two months. Traders will keep an eye on remarks from Federal Reserve policymakers, news flow from the ongoing G7 meetings and developments on a U.S. tax-cut bill, which nonpartisan analysts say could add $3 trillion to $5 trillion to the U.S. debt. (Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Varun H K)
Zawya
05-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Barclays cuts 2025, 2026 Brent crude forecast as OPEC+ accelerates output hikes
Barclays lowered its Brent oil price forecast by $4 per barrel to $66/bbl for 2025 and by $2 to $60/bbl for 2026, citing the decision by OPEC+ to accelerate oil production hikes. "Tariff-related developments have certainly been a drag but the OPEC+ pivot has also been a significant driver of the move lower in oil prices of late," Barclays said in a noted dated Sunday. OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, agreed to accelerate oil production hikes for a second consecutive month, raising output in June by 411,000 barrels per day, the group said on Saturday. OPEC+ sources have said Saudi Arabia is pushing the group to accelerate the unwinding of earlier output cuts to punish fellow members Iraq and Kazakhstan for poor compliance with their production quotas. Barclays noted that the OPEC+ decision is more related to strength in underlying fundamentals and external influence than concerns about member overproduction. Brent crude futures fell more than $2 a barrel in early trade on Monday, and traded at $59.20 as of 0250 GMT. Barclays now expects OPEC+ to phase out the additional voluntary adjustments by October 2025, but also expects slightly slower U.S. oil output growth. Overall, this loosens their balance estimates by 290 thousand barrels per day (kbd) for 2025 and 110 kbd for 2026, it said. Barclays also revised its baseline view on OPEC+, expecting the group to continue its accelerated path of phasing out additional voluntary adjustments, and now sees it taking effect in six months from the initial plan of 18. "That would result in 390 kb/d and 230 kb/d increases in our 2025 and 2026 OPEC crude forecasts, respectively," Barclays said. Barclays now forecasts a decline in U.S. crude output by 100 kbd from the fourth quarter of 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2025, and by 150 kbd in 2026. (Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
Zawya
07-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Lloyds shifts skilled IT jobs from UK to India, FT reports
Lloyds Banking Group is hiring hundreds of IT engineers in India, while planning to cut hundreds of similar jobs in the UK, the Financial Times reported on Friday citing a person familiar with the plans. The British lender plans to include 4,000 permanent employees working in technology and data in India by the end of the year, the report said, citing a presentation. (Reporting by Pretish M J in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
