INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The rupee edged lower against the US
dollar on Tuesday, moving away from a one-month high of 66.85 touched against the greenback the previous day
The next major trigger for the rupee will be the Reserve Bank of India's policy statement on Wednesday, a day the central bank is expected
to hold key rates, say analysts
The rupee, down 5 per cent against the US dollar so far this year, had last month weakened to 18-month lows around 68 against the US dollar,
tracking a surge in global crude oil prices.1
The rupee traded in the range of 67.15-67.08 against the US dollar in morning
At 9:31 am, the rupee was trading nearly unchanged at 67.13 against the US dollar
On Monday, it had settled 6 paise lower against the greenback at 67.11.2
In a Reuters poll of 56 economists taken after the GDP data was released on Thursday, 26 respondents, or about 46 per cent, said they expect
the RBI to take the repo rate higher at the June 6 meeting
Compared to this, 21 of 57 economists, or about 40 per cent, in a poll taken before the GDP data was published, had said that they expect
the RBI to hike rates on Wednesday .3
The GDP growth accelerated to 7.7 per cent in the March quarter - the fastest pace of growth in seven quarters - government data showed last
With that, India retained its position as the fastest growing major economy in the world.4
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was little changed after edging down 0.2 per cent overnight, news agency Reuters
Crude oil prices edged higher on Tuesday, a day after falling nearly 2 per cent, but growing US production and expectations of higher OPEC
(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ) supplies limited the bounce
Brent crude futures added 0.4 per cent to $75.59 a barrel
Higher crude oil prices make oil imports more expensive for India, which meets more than 80 per cent of its oil needs through imports
That puts pressure on the rupee.(With agency inputs)
