Rupee up 2 paise to 69.68 vs USD ahead of Fed policy decision

Mumbai: The rupee inched up 2 paise to end at 69.68 against the US dollar Wednesday ahead of the US Fed's interest rate decision.

Hopes of a breakthrough in US-China trade talks and softening crude oil prices supported the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange (forex) market, the domestic currency opened at 69.57 to a dollar and gained further strength to touch a high of 69.49 during the day.

However, it could not hold on to the gains and finally ended at 69.68, up 2 paise over its previous close.

The rupee had settled at 69.70 against the US dollar Tuesday.

"Global markets would also await the outcome of the ongoing FOMC policy meeting which will conclude on June 19. The central bank is highly expected to come out in dovish note and markets would be highly anticipating any kind of hints on future rate cuts by the central bank," Angel Broking Research Associate Vaqar Khan said.

Khan further said the rupee is likely to remain range-bound in the coming days despite a marginal increase in global risk appetite.

"The Fed is widely expected to stand pat on monetary policy this time but open the door for an interest rate cut at the next meeting in July," said V K Sharma, Head PCG and Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities.

Meanwhile, the 10-year government bond yield rose to 6.84 per cent Wednesday.

"The benchmark 10-year sovereign bond yield rose 3 bps to 6.84 per cent after slumping 12 bps on Tuesday to its lowest level since October 2017, amid reports that a panel may recommend transferring one-third of the RBI's surplus reserves to the government," Sharma added.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets, purchasing shares worth Rs 31.73 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.09 per cent to 97.55.

The BSE Sensex ended modestly higher Wednesday after a highly volatile session. After rallying nearly 400 points during the day, the BSE gauge settled 66.40 points, or 0.17 per cent, higher at 39,112.74. The broader NSE Nifty closed almost flat at 11,691.45.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, eased 0.77 per cent to trade at USD 61.66 per barrel.

The Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 69.8010 and for rupee/euro at 78.4233. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 87.4602 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 64.47.