USD/INR flattens at the start of Fed’s decision week

• The Indian Rupee opens cautiously around 88.40 against the US Dollar ahead of the Fed’s interest rate decision.
• The Fed is widely anticipated to cut interest rates by 25 bps to 4.00%-4.25%.
• Inflation in India at the wholesale level grew at a faster pace in August.

The Indian Rupee (INR) starts the week on a cautious note around 88.40 against the US Dollar (USD), still it is close to its all-time high around 88.60 posted last week. The USD/INR pair is expected to trade on the sidelines, with investors awaiting the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy outcome on Wednesday.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, the Fed is certain to cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.00%-4.25%. Therefore, investors will pay close attention to the monetary policy statement and Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference to get cues about the monetary policy action in the remainder of the year.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have forecasted that the Fed will cut interest rates by 25 bps in all three remaining monetary policy announcements this year, citing downside labor market risks, with threats of high inflation remaining in place.

Latest labor market-related economic indicators have shown signs of a slowing job market in the wake of tariffs imposed by United States (US) President Donald Trump. Last week, Initial Jobless Claims data for the week ending September 5 showed that individuals claiming jobless benefits came in at the highest in four years at 263K.

India's wholesale inflation grew at faster-than-expected pace in August

• The resumption of a monetary-easing campaign by the Fed and a dovish interest rate outlook will be a favorable scenario for the Indian Rupee. However, its upside is expected to remain limited due to ongoing trade tensions between the US and India.
• US President Trump has urged the European Union (EU) to exert pressure on India and China to stop them from buying Oil from Russia. Trump has been blaming Asian giants, especially India, for the money that they are paying to Moscow for Oil is being utilized to keep the war going in Ukraine.
• In response to India buying Russian Oil, US President Trump has already increased tariffs on imports from New Delhi to 50%, which has dampened the competitiveness of Indian products in global markets.
• US-India trade tensions have remained a major drag on the sentiment of overseas investors towards India. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have pared a significant stake of 1,03,813.87 crores in the cash segment of the Indian stock market. However, some signs of slowdown have been observed in the pace of FIIs selling as a significant amount of sell-off was seen in July and August.
• On the domestic front, India's Wholesale Price Index (WPI) Inflation data for August has come in higher-than-projected. Inflation at the producer level has grown at an annual pace of 0.52% against estimates of 0.3%. In July, the producer inflation data was deflated by 0.58%.
• On Friday, India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for August also grew at a faster pace. India’s retail inflation rose at an annual pace of 2.07%, almost in line with estimates of 2.1%, and faster than the prior reading of 1.67%. Still, the inflation growth remains below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) target of 3.7% for the current financial year.

Technical Analysis: USD/INR sees more upside to near 89.00

USD/INR opens on a flat note around 88.40 on Monday. The near-term trend of the pair remains bullish as it holds above the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which trades near 88.00.

The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) holds above 60.00, suggesting that a fresh bullish momentum is intact.

Looking down, the 20-day will act as key support for the major. On the upside, the round figure of 89.00 would be the key hurdle for the pair.