Indian rupee likely higher, awaits Fed rate decision
The Indian rupee is expected to open higher on Wednesday after U.S. inflation data reaffirmed views that the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates unchanged in June.
Non-deliverable forwards indicate the rupee will open at around 82.22-82.24 to the U.S. dollar, compared with 82.3675 in the previous session.
The consumer price index (CPI) showed an annual increase of 4% in May, slowing from 4.9% in April.
Data earlier this month offered a mixed picture of the U.S. labor market, while some Fed officials have called for a pause. Post the CPI data, the odds of a Fed rate hike in June have fallen to 8% from 25% on Tuesday.
The dollar index hovered close to an over three-week low hit on Tuesday, while the two-year U.S. yield dropped slightly in Asia after rising to its highest since March 10.
"We think it will be a hawkish pause as the Fed emphasizes that the hiking cycle might not be done. Whether the pause turns into a skip will depend on incoming data," DBS analysts said in a note.
The risk sentiment remained robust, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reaching their highest closes in 14 months on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the offshore Chinese yuan remained under pressure against the dollar after dropping to a new low since November on Tuesday.
KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 82.35; onshore one-month forward premium at 7.5 paisa ** USD/INR NSE June futures settled on Monday at 82.4150 ** USD/INR June forward premium at 2.8 paisa ** Dollar index down at 103.23 ** Brent crude futures down 0.3% at $74 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 3.81% ** SGX Nifty nearest-month futures up 0.2% at 18,828 ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $72.1 mln worth of Indian shares on June 12
** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $28.5 mln worth of Indian bonds on Jun. 12