Indian rupee opens higher tracking other Asian currencies
In early deals, the rupee was trading at 71.12 against the dollar
The Indian rupee on Monday strengthened marginally against the US dollar, tracking gains in its Asian peers as traders assessed the US President Donald Trump’s comments on trade talks with China.
Having opened at 71.15 to a dollar, the domestic currency, in early deals, traded at 71.12 a dollar compared with Friday's close of 71.16. So far this year, the unit has declined 2.3%.
Trump has said the US was “doing very well with China, and talking!" but suggested he wasn’t ready to sign a trade deal, hours after his top economic adviser laid out a potential timeline for the resumption of substantive discussions with Beijing.
Back home, the 10-year government bond yield was at 6.553% compared with its previous close of 6.545%.
In pre-trade, the benchmark equity index Sensex was up 0.6% at 37571.76 points. So far this year, the index has risen 4%.
In the year so far, foreign investors have bought nearly $8.12 billion in Indian equities and $2.83 billion in debt.
Other Asian currencies also traded higher today, with the Indonesian rupiah up 0.25%, Malaysian ringgit 0.22%, Philippines peso 0.21%, Thai Baht 0.19%, Taiwan dollar 0.05%. However, China Offshore was down 0.13%, while Singapore dollar eased 0.07%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against a basket of major currencies, was at 98.19, up 0.05% from its previous close of 98.142.
