Informist, Friday, Apr 21, 2023

MUMBAI – The rupee ended slightly higher against the dollar today amid low volume, as banks sold the greenback for foreign fund inflows into Indian corporates, dealers said.

After moving within a narrow range of 12 paise throughout the day, the rupee settled at 82.0900 a dollar, against 82.1475 on Thursday. 

The rupee opened a tad higher at 82.1000 a dollar, as the dollar index fell on Thursday following weak economic data in the US, which indicated a possible recession in the world's largest economy. This led to expectations that the Federal Reserve could pause its rate hike cycle in June after another expected hike in May. 

Data on Thursday showed initial claims for unemployment in the US rose modestly to 245,000 in the latest week, while a separate report from the Philadelphia Fed showed that its measure of factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region fell to the lowest in nearly three years in April.

Moreover, existing home sales in the world's largest economy slipped 2.4% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.44 mln units last month.

Money markets are now pricing in an 84.5% chance of a 25-basis-point hike next month compared with a 67% chance a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.  More