USD/INR declines as US Dollar slumps, investors await US-India trade talks
- The Indian Rupee trades higher around 88.20 against the US Dollar ahead of trade discussions between the US and India.
- Washington receives 50% tariffs on imports from India into the US.
- The Fed is expected to reduce borrowing rates on Wednesday.
The Indian Rupee (INR) rises to near 88.20 against the US Dollar (USD) on Tuesday. The USD/INR pair declines as the US Dollar underperforms its peers, with investors remaining certain that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will start the monetary-easing cycle in its policy announcement on Wednesday.
During the press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, slumps to near 97.00, the lowest level seen in seven weeks.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, there is a 96% chance that the Fed will reduce interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.00%-4.25%, while the rest support a bigger reduction of 50 bps.
As the Fed is widely anticipated to reduce interest rates, the major trigger for the US Dollar will be the monetary policy statement and Chair Jerome Powell’s speech to get cues about the outlook of interest rates for the remainder of the year and the labor market.
Fed dovish speculation has been intensified by escalating US labor market risks. Last week, Initial Jobless Claims data for the week ending September 5 showed that individuals claiming jobless benefits came in the highest in four years at 263K.
Daily digest market movers: Fed dovish speculation batters US Dollar
- Though the Indian Rupee trades higher against the US Dollar, it is broadly underperforming as top negotiators from India and the United States (US) are scheduled to discuss trade in New Delhi on Tuesday.
- Trade relations between India and the US have not been good in the past few months as President Donald Trump has criticized New Delhi for buying Oil from Russia, which he called that Moscow is utilizing the money for funding the war in Ukraine. Additionally, Trump also raised tariffs on India to 50%, making Indian products less competitive in global markets.
- Ahead of US-India trade discussions, Washington’s trade adviser Peter Navarro said in an interview with CNBC on Monday that India was "coming to the negotiating table". He also acknowledged the exchange of tweets between President Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi happened last week, which signaled that both nations continue to negotiate on trade and expressed confidence that they will reach a deal soon.
- "India is coming to the table. PM Modi sent out a very conciliatory, nice, constructive tweet, and President Trump responded to that. We'll see how this works,” Navarro.
- The confirmation of a trade truce between the US and India would be favorable for the Indian Rupee in times when the Asian giant is going through structural reforms to steadfast its domestic consumption. Earlier this month, the Indian government unveiled a new Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in which tax slabs were brought down to two from four.
- In the US, investors will focus on the US Retail Sales data for August, which will be published at 12:30 GMT. The US Retail Sales data is expected to come in lower at 0.3% on a monthly basis, against the prior release of 0.5%.
- Meanwhile, the US Senate narrowly confirmed President Donald Trump’s chosen economic adviser Stephen Miran as a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors ahead of the policy decision. Miran was placed on the Fed’s board after member Adriana Kugler unexpectedly resigned in early August.
The table below shows the percentage change of Indian Rupee (INR) against listed major currencies today. Indian Rupee was the weakest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | INR | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.31% | -0.25% | -0.24% | -0.05% | 0.03% | -0.09% | -0.31% | |
| EUR | 0.31% | 0.07% | -0.03% | 0.25% | 0.39% | 0.21% | -0.00% | |
| GBP | 0.25% | -0.07% | -0.06% | 0.19% | 0.33% | 0.12% | -0.08% | |
| JPY | 0.24% | 0.03% | 0.06% | 0.26% | 0.33% | 0.20% | -0.03% | |
| CAD | 0.05% | -0.25% | -0.19% | -0.26% | 0.08% | -0.04% | -0.26% | |
| AUD | -0.03% | -0.39% | -0.33% | -0.33% | -0.08% | -0.08% | -0.39% | |
| INR | 0.09% | -0.21% | -0.12% | -0.20% | 0.04% | 0.08% | -0.22% | |
| CHF | 0.31% | 0.00% | 0.08% | 0.03% | 0.26% | 0.39% | 0.22% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Indian Rupee from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent INR (base)/USD (quote).
Technical Analysis: USD/INR corrects towards 20-day EMA
The USD/INR pair falls to near 88.20 on Tuesday. However, the near-term trend of the pair remains bullish as it holds above the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which trades near 88.03.
The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) falls to near 60.00. A fresh bullish momentum would emerge if the RSI rebounds from that level.
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.
Indian economy FAQs
The Indian economy has averaged a growth rate of 6.13% between 2006 and 2023, which makes it one of the fastest growing in the world. India’s high growth has attracted a lot of foreign investment. This includes Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into physical projects and Foreign Indirect Investment (FII) by foreign funds into Indian financial markets. The greater the level of investment, the higher the demand for the Rupee (INR). Fluctuations in Dollar-demand from Indian importers also impact INR.
India has to import a great deal of its Oil and gasoline so the price of Oil can have a direct impact on the Rupee. Oil is mostly traded in US Dollars (USD) on international markets so if the price of Oil rises, aggregate demand for USD increases and Indian importers have to sell more Rupees to meet that demand, which is depreciative for the Rupee.
Inflation has a complex effect on the Rupee. Ultimately it indicates an increase in money supply which reduces the Rupee’s overall value. Yet if it rises above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 4% target, the RBI will raise interest rates to bring it down by reducing credit. Higher interest rates, especially real rates (the difference between interest rates and inflation) strengthen the Rupee. They make India a more profitable place for international investors to park their money. A fall in inflation can be supportive of the Rupee. At the same time lower interest rates can have a depreciatory effect on the Rupee.
India has run a trade deficit for most of its recent history, indicating its imports outweigh its exports. Since the majority of international trade takes place in US Dollars, there are times – due to seasonal demand or order glut – where the high volume of imports leads to significant US Dollar- demand. During these periods the Rupee can weaken as it is heavily sold to meet the demand for Dollars. When markets experience increased volatility, the demand for US Dollars can also shoot up with a similarly negative effect on the Rupee.
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