By Jaspreet Kalra
MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Indian rupee was largely flat on Wednesday as sustained dollar inflows helped ease the pressure from weakness in most Asian currencies.
The rupee was at 82.90 against the U.S. dollar as of 11:00 a.m. IST, barely changed from its close of 82.8975 in the previous session.
Meanwhile, dollar-rupee forwards premiums extended their decline from the previous session with the 1-year implied yield lower by 3 basis points (bps) at 1.64%, the lowest level in about two and a half months.
The 1-year implied yield had dropped 5 bps on Tuesday pressured by strong receiving interest from foreign banks, traders said.
“Forward premiums are likely to stay under pressure in the near term … we could see the 1-year implied yield decline to 1.60% over the next few days,” a foreign exchange trader at a state-run bank said.
The dollar index inched higher to 103.94 while most Asian currencies weakened, with the Thai baht down 0.4% and leading losses.
The rupee’s downside appears to be capped around 83.10 with an appreciation bias towards 82.50 remaining on the cards, Amit Pabari, managing director at foreign exchange advisory firm CR Forex said.
While data released on Tuesday showed that U.S. durable goods orders in January fell more than expected, markets appeared to be largely unfazed by it.
Meanwhile, U.S. Fed officials have continued to push back against expectations of early rate cuts.
Loosening financial conditions and additional fiscal stimulus could add to demand and stall progress on inflation, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said on Tuesday.
Investors are currently pricing in an 81% chance of the Fed keeping rates unchanged in May, up from 65% a week earlier, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
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