HomeMarket NewsCurrency NewsRupee opens tad lower against US dollar, bond yields fall

Rupee opens tad lower against US dollar, bond yields fall

Indian rupee opened marginally lower against the US dollar on Friday amid continued strength in the greenback following the FOMC minutes.

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By Aastha Agnihotri  October 19, 2018, 9:21:43 AM IST (Published)

Rupee opens tad lower against US dollar, bond yields fall
Indian rupee opened marginally lower against the US dollar on Friday amid continued strength in the greenback following the FOMC minutes.


At 09:15 AM, the rupee was trading at 73.63 a dollar, down 2 paise, from its Wednesday’s close of 73.61. The home currency opened at 73.62 and touched a high and a low of 73.59 and 73.64 a dollar, respectively.

Indian financial, debt and currency markets were shut on Thursday for a public holiday.

The rupee surrendered all the gains made during the day and settled 13 paise lower at 73.61 against the US dollar Wednesday amid steady capital outflows.

Market sentiment remained frail on Friday as well due to higher crude oil prices and stronger dollar.

The minutes released Wednesday showed that US Federal Reserve remains convinced it needs to tighten monetary policy to keep the economy steady. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.35 percent at 95.9053.

In the oil space, front-month London Brent crude for December delivery was up 34 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $79.63 a barrel.

Unabated foreign fund outflows also had an impact on the domestic currency. Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs 1,165.63 crore Tuesday, provisional data showed.

The rupee is the worst performing emerging market currency having lost almost 15 percent since January this year. Between April and September the rupee has plummeted more than 7 to the dollar.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds fell 0.28 percent to 7.89 percent after closing at 7.91 percent on Wednesday. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.



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