Rupee trades higher at 66.82 against US dollar.

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Tuesday was trading marginally higher against the US dollar, tracking the gains in its Asian peers and ahead of the wholesale price inflation (WPI) data due after 12.30pm.

The rupee opened at 66.85 a dollar. At 9.12am, the home currency was trading at 66.82 a dollar, up 0.10% from its previous close of 66.89.

Asian currencies were trading higher. South Korean won was up 0.48%, Japanese yen 0.28%, Philippines peso 0.21%, Taiwan dollar 0.07% and Malaysian ringgit 0.05%. However, Thai baht was down 0.08%, while Indonesian rupiah fell 0.07%.

The government will issue WPI data after 12.30pm. According to a poll of Bloomberg analysts, WPI will be at 2.84% in July against 1.62% in June.

India’s retail inflation crossed the upper tolerance level of 6% jointly set by the central bank and the government for the first time in 23 months in July, while factory output growth remained tepid in June. The acceleration in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to 6.07% in July from 5.77% in June came on the back of rising food prices, despite above-normal monsoon rainfall. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) picked up in June to 2.1% from 1.1% a month ago on the back of mining and electricity output.

India’s merchandise exports fell once again in July by 6.84% to $21.7 billion. Imports during the month also declined by 19.03% to $29.5 billion. Trade deficit fell to $7.8 billion against $13.09 billion a year ago and $8.12 billion a month ago. Gold imports declined 64% to $1.1 billion.

The 10-year bond yield was trading at 7.112%, from its Friday’s close of 7.103%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 0.10% or 27.44 points to 28,179.84. So far this year, it has gained 7.8%.

So far this year, the rupee is down 1%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $5.42 billion in equity and sold $1.16 million in debt markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.619, down 0.01% from its previous close of 95.629.

Traders are cautious as the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday will release minutes of its July meeting that could provide clues on its plans to raise interest rates and its view on the health of the economy.

Source : livemint.com​