Mumbai: The Indian rupee opened marginally higher against US dollar as traders awaits gross domestic product (GDP) and fiscal deficit data due later on Thursday.
At 9.15am, the rupee was trading at 67.37 against the US dollar, up 0.09% from its previous close of 67.44. The currency opened at 67.43 a dollar.
The 10-year bond yield stood at 7.821% from its Wednesday’s close of 7.782%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Growth in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year that ended in March 2018 probably picked up to 7.4%, according to a Bloomberg survey. Earlier, Moody’s reduced India’s 2018 GDP growth outlook to 7.3% from 7.5%, citing higher oil prices and tighter financial conditions.
Traders also cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) bi-monthly policy meeting next week.
So far this year, the rupee has weakened 5.3%, while foreign investors have sold $8.3 million and $4.39 billion in equity and debt markets, respectively.
Benchmark Sensex Index rose 0.28% or 96.51 points to 35,002.62. Since January, it has gained 2.5%.
Asian currencies were trading higher as market shifts focus to progress on the US-North Korea summit from Italy’s political crisis. Indonesian rupiah was up 0.78%, South Korean won 0.59%, Taiwan dollar 0.31%, Philippines peso 0.3%, Malaysian ringgit 0.26%, China renminbi 0.17%, Japanese yen 0.15%, Thai Baht 0.11%, Singapore dollar 0.1%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.045, down 0.03% from its previous close of 94.069.
Bloomberg contributed this story