By Nimesh Vora
MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Indian rupee is likely to open marginally lower against the U.S. currency on Thursday, weighed by persistent dollar demand from importers and rise in oil prices.
The rupee is expected to be around 82.85-82.88 at open, compared with 82.81 in the previous session.
It looks like it will be another session where help will be needed to prevent the rupee from falling below 83, a trader at a Mumbai-based private bank said. There is nothing negative in cues out of Asia, but the relentless dollar demand and the higher oil prices “will be an issue”, the trader said.
Public sector banks have been regularly selling dollars lately, when rupee falls near to 82.85-82.90 levels. A few traders reckon that it is likely on the behest of the Reserve Bank of India.
Asian currencies were mostly higher, while the dollar index was down to 103.98 on the back of the positive. Hong Kong led Asian shares higher following an overnight rally on the S&P 500 Index.
U.S. consumer confidence rose to an eight-month high in December, helping revive risk appetite.
Oil prices inched higher in Asia after climbing 2.8% on Wednesday. Brent crude is now at near $82.50, all 10% off its recent lows. [O/R]
U.S. data due later in the day and on Friday, including the final reading of the third quarter GDP, will help investors assess how the world’s largest economy is faring in the face of aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes.
The outlook on USD/INR looks “bullish” with 83.00 being the major resistance level, Dilip Parmar, analyst at HDFC Securities, said in a note. Crossing the 83 level will clear the way for 83.77, he added.
KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 82.98; onshore one-month forward premium at 13.25 paise ** USD/INR NSE Dec futures settled on Wed at 82.8175 ** USD/INR Dec forward premium is 2.0 paise ** Dollar index down at 103.96 ** Brent crude futures up 0.6% at $82.7 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 3.6480% ** SGX Nifty nearest-month futures up 0.6% at 18,356 ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors bought a net $147.1mln worth of Indian shares on Dec. 20
** NSDL data shows foreign investors sold a net $0.9mln worth of Indian bonds on Dec. 20
(Reporting by Nimesh Vora; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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