Rupee closes weaker against US dollar at 67.65 ahead of GDP data

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Friday closed marginally weaker against the US dollar as caution prevailed among currency traders ahead of key economic data due from the US as well as domestic growth numbers.

The rupee closed at 67.65 a dollar, down 0.13% from its previous close of 67.57. The local currency had opened at 67.66 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 67.58 and 67.73, respectively.

The government will release gross domestic product (GDP) data for the December quarter on 8 February, according to ministry of statistics and programme implementation website. Gross value added (GVA) would have grown by 7.1% in the said quarter compared with 7.4% in September quarter while the GDP growth will be at 7.3% from 7.4% a quarter ago, Bloomberg poll showed.

The US will detail non-farm payrolls data wherein it is expected to show 190,000 jobs were added in January, according to the median estimate of 108 economists polled by Reuters.

While gains in local share indices and Asian currencies supported the rupee intraday, dollar demand from importers weighed on the currency. Year-to-date, rupee weakened 2.20%, while foreign portfolio investors sold $1.72 billion from local equities and bought $468.3 million in debt.

India’s benchmark equity index, BSE Sensex, closed at 24,616.97 points, up 1.14%, or 278.54 points. So far this year, the Sensex has lost over 5.75%.

Asian currencies closed higher. Taiwan dollar was up 0.6%, South Korean won 0.38%, Thai baht 0.31%, Indonesian rupiah 0.31%, China offshore spot 0.1%, Singapore dollar 0.05%. Malaysian ringgit was down 0.2%, Philippines peso 0.05%.

But the US dollar headed for its worst week since 2009 as traders strengthened bets that the US Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged this year because of a weak global economy.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 96.59, up 0.12% from its previous close of 96.474.

Meanwhile, the yield on India’s new 10-year benchmark bond closed at 7.705% compared with its Thursday’s close of 7.714%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.