Rupee ends marginally lower, notches slight weekly decline
rupee closed slightly lower on Friday, tracking subdued moves in its Asian peers, as investors turned their attention to a crucial U.S. labour market report due later in the day.
The rupee ended at 83.3850 against the U.S.
dollar, against its previous close of 83.3525. The local unit logged a weekly loss of 0.1%.
The rupee hovered in a range of 83.26 and 83.40 over the week.
The rupee is likely to «stay in a tight range with a mild depreciation bias,» Sajal Gupta, head of forex and rates at Nuvama Wealth Management's institutional desk said.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left its benchmark policy rates unchanged on Friday but raised its growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 7% from 6.5% earlier.
Indian bonds yields were stable following the policy announcement and the rupee was largely muted as well.
The dollar index was steady at 103.78 while Asian currencies were rangebound.
U.S.
labour market data is expected to show the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.9% in November, while non-farm payrolls are expected to have risen to 180,000 from 150,000 in October, according to Reuters' polls.
Softer-than-expected labour market data could further cement bets that the Federal Reserve may soon begin easing interest rates and weigh down the greenback.
The rupee has remained in a sticky range but continued softness in the dollar may lower some pressure, a foreign exchange trader at a private bank said.
Still, «expect gains on the rupee to be capped near 83-83.10 levels,» the trader added.
Investors are currently pricing in a slightly-over-50% chance of the Fed starting rate cuts in March 2024. (Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
