USD/INR Price News: Indian rupee teases bulls above 74.00 amid subdued markets

USD/INR snaps two-day uptrend, steps back from intraday top.
Doubts over India’s vaccination success join fears of Delta Plus covid variant to back buyers.
Indecision over Fed’s next moves, US President Biden’s infrastructure spending passage tests immediate moves.
US data, Fedspeak and macro relating to covid, stimulus become important for fresh impulse.

Anil Panchal FXStreet

USD/INR pares weekly gains with a recent pullback to 74.20, down 0.05% intraday, amid the initial hour of Thursday’s Indian trading session. In doing so, the Indian rupee (INR) pair drops for the first in three days amid the market’s indecision over the coronavirus (COVID-19) conditions in India and the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) next moves, not to forget US President Joe Biden’s infrastructure spending plan.

INR bulls cheer the latest declines in the COVID-19 cases, easing of virus-led activity restrictions in states and record surge in daily vaccinations. The latest data from the Indian Health Minister, per Reuters, mention a 54,069 daily rise in coronavirus infections, taking a total to 30.08 million, whereas the pandemic-led fatalities increased 1,321 to 391,981.

Even so, the New York Times (NYT) gives India 93^rd rank for its inoculation, versus 82^nd during early June, while marking a meager 3.8% fully vaccinated Indians.

On the contrary, the US dollar gains safe-haven bids as Fed policymakers and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen could not convince markets of any challenges to the easy money policies. Also, doubts over how the US Senators will be able to bridge a large gap between the Republicans’ demands and Democrats’ push ahead of a two-week holiday session add to the market jitters. Furthermore, the covid variant fears regain traction in the US after an Epidemiologist warns over the jump in the cases this fall and add to the greenback’s strength.

Against this backdrop, Indian shares track mildly bid US stock futures while the US dollar index benefited from a firmer US 10-Treasury yield by the press time.

Moving on, USD/INR traders may keep struggling for clues ahead of the key US Durable Goods Orders. Also important will be the comments from the Federal Reserve (Fed) officials, as well as virus and stimulus updates.

Read: US Durable Goods Orders May Preview: Is the consumer really absent?

Technical analysis

USD/INR rebound from the 74.00 needs acceptance from mid-April lows near 74.55 to keep the pair buyers hopeful. Otherwise, a 50-day SMA level of 73.64 will be the key to watch during the fresh downside below the weekly low.

Additional important levels

Overview
Today last price	74.215
Today Daily Change	-0.0308
Today Daily Change %	-0.04%
Today daily open	74.2458

Trends
Daily SMA20	73.3032
Daily SMA50	73.6499
Daily SMA100	73.3631
Daily SMA200	73.4869

Levels
Previous Daily High	74.5135
Previous Daily Low	74.0898
Previous Weekly High	74.4752
Previous Weekly Low	73.1046
Previous Monthly High	74.311
Previous Monthly Low	72.3386
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	74.3517
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	74.2517
Daily Pivot Point S1	74.0526
Daily Pivot Point S2	73.8594
Daily Pivot Point S3	73.6289
Daily Pivot Point R1	74.4762
Daily Pivot Point R2	74.7067
Daily Pivot Point R3	74.8999

Author

Anil Panchal

FXStreet

Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.

AUD/USD flatlines near 0.6965 as less hawkish RBA counters USD weakness

AUD/USD holds steady above a two-week low, trading near 0.6965 in the Asian session on Wednesday as early midterm election results heighten political uncertainty and weigh heavily on the US Dollar. Moreover, reviving safe-haven demand triggers a fresh leg down in US bond yields, offsetting Fed hike bets and exerting additional pressure on the buck. However, a less hawkish RBA caps the Aussie.

USD/JPY declines below 158.00 as USD weakens on midterm election results

USD/JPY comes under heavy selling pressure on Wednesday, dropping below 158.00 during the Asian session as the US Dollar slumps to a one-month low amid heightened political uncertainty after early US midterm vote counts. Moreover, the prospect of gridlock in Washington drives safe-haven flows, triggering a fresh leg down in US bond yields and further weighing on the buck.

Gold continues scaling new weekly highs; eyes $4,050 as US sticks to elections-led losses

Gold builds on its strong intraday move up, hitting a series of new weekly tops, and climbing back close to the $4,050 level during the first half of the European session amid a broadly weaker US Dollar. Democrats’ wins in the House and Senate raise the prospect of gridlock in Washington. Moreover, heightened political uncertainty drove investors to safe-haven assets, exerting some downward pressure on US bond yields. This is seen weighing on the Greenback and supporting the precious metal.

Bitcoin tests critical support, Ethereum struggles below resistance, XRP extends losses

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) remain under pressure on Wednesday as bearish momentum continues to weigh on prices. BTC approaches key support around $76,466, and a decisive close below could open the door to deeper losses. Meanwhile, ETH struggles below key resistance while XRP faces rejection at the upper trendline of a falling channel pattern, all hinting at deeper losses.

ADP Employment Report expected to show slower job growth in October

The Automatic Data Processing Research Institute is due to release October’s private-sector employment report on Wednesday. The market consensus anticipates a moderate slowdown in job creation, with the ADP Employment Change expected to show 69K new private jobs in October, down from 90K in September.

The 2% inflation target came from a throwaway remark. It now moves trillions

The Federal Reserve's 2% inflation goal grew out of an off-the-cuff remark by a New Zealand politician in 1988. Bond investors still price long-term US debt as if 2% holds, so a change in how the Fed measures inflation would move markets.