New GDP figures show the UK economy picked up the pace before Omicron struck

The USDINR pair made a gap up opening at 74.05 levels and traded in the range of 74.05-74.20 with an upside bias. The pair finally closed at 74.15 levels. The RBI set the reference rate at 74.1157. The USDINR pair rose today because domestic and Asian equity indices slumped tracking overnight weakness in US stocks. Market participants stated that the global equities fell due to investors' fears of policy tightening by major central banks on the back of rising inflation globally. 

Investors now await the release of the US retail sales data, due later today, for further cues on economic recovery in the US and the pace of the US Fed's policy normalization plan. The Bank of Japan is considering conducting a thorough analysis of the country's price dynamics and whether recent signs of quickening inflation would be sustainable. The central bank may release some of the findings in a quarterly outlook report due at next week's policy review. Growth in China’s exports and imports slowed down in December, with signs of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy. However, solid demand continued to buoy Chinese exports. 

New GDP figures today show the UK economy picked up the pace before Omicron struck. The growth of 0.9% in November was much better than the 0.4% expected and meant GDP exceeded its pre-pandemic level for the first time. India’s WPI inflation eased to 13.56% in December compared to 14.23% in November due to milder fuel and power prices but remained in double digits for the ninth consecutive month.

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