Finance
The Indian rupee closed higher, breaking a two-day flat trend, as lessening tensions on the second day of US-China trade talks boosted market optimism.
According to Bloomberg, the native currency rose 11 paise to 85.51 against the dollar, up from 85.62 on Tuesday. Despite trading flat for two days, the currency is up for the sixth straight session.
While the euro has traded roughly flat this year, Asian currencies have risen amid broader dollar weakness. Asian currencies were range-bound throughout the day as trade tensions eased.
According to Reuters, the rupee’s intraday range over the last two sessions has been limited to approximately 20 paisa, indicating that volatility has reduced. The 10-day daily realized volatility has reached its lowest level in over two months.
The United States and China agreed on a plan to reduce trade tensions, with both sides pledging to implement the consensus achieved in the previous round of talks in Geneva. Meanwhile, a US federal appeals court has allowed Trump’s most sweeping tariffs to remain in effect while it considers a lower court judgment blocking them.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.07 percent to 99.02. Furthermore, the Trump administration is pushing for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to be the next Federal Reserve chair.
Meanwhile, the dollar index is expected to be influenced by US consumer price inflation data due later today, which may provide insight into the Federal Reserve’s future policy rates.
Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director of Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, stated that there are no large inflows or outflows predicted in the short future, and the currency remains within a broad range of 85.00-86.00 and a smaller band of 85.25-85.75.
Crude oil prices recovered after dipping early Wednesday as markets awaited the result of US-China trade negotiations. Brent crude prices were up 0.90 percent to $67.47 per barrel, while WTI crude prices were up 1.09 percent to 65.69 as of 3:45 PM IST.
Source: BS
