Mumbai: The Indian rupee weakened marginally against the US dollar in opening trade, ahead of the key gross domestic product (GDP) and fiscal deficit data due later on Tuesday.
The local currency opened at 66.75 a dollar. At 9.15am, the home currency was trading at 66.78, down 0.10% from its Monday’s close of 66.71.
Sensex index rose 0.17% or 48.46 points to 28,853.33. So far this year, it has risen 8.2%.
GDP will provide clues on how the economy has responded to the government decision to scrap Rs500 and Rs1,000 banknotes in November. Economists surveyed by Mint expected growth in GDP in the three months ended 31 December to be in the range of 5.5% to 6.5%.
The 10-year bond yield rose to 6.894% compared to its Monday’s close of 6.879%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
So far this year, the rupee has gained 1.7%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $1.42 billion and $379.10 million from local equity and debt markets, respectively.
Most Asian currencies were trading lower. Thai baht was down 0.19%, Malaysian ringgit 0.15%, Taiwan dollar 0.06%. However, Japanese yen was up 0.12%, South Korean won 0.08%, China Offshore 0.05%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 101.17, up 0.04% from its previous close of 101.13.
Traders are cautious ahead of the US President Donald Trump’s first address to the US Congress on Tuesday.
