The Indian rupee gave up little gains against the US dollar on Tuesday trading as investors were cautious ahead of the release of key macro-economic data and the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the White House.
Waiting Game
From 68.21 per greenback in its previous close, the Indian rupee erased few gains and eased versus the US dollar on Tuesday as it lost 0.3%, or three paise, to settle at 68.18.
The rupee opened at a near 68.09 level before it touched a high and low of 68.21 and 67.99 respectively in yesterday’s session.
So far, the local currency is on the back foot this year as it registered a 0.3% decline against the dollar in the first two weeks of 2017.
The slight decline in the local currency was constituted by the cautious move of traders who shunned taking large positions before the key economic figures are release and the upcoming inauguration of President Donald Trump next week.
The Indian government is set to release its industrial production (IIP) and consumer price inflation (CPI) data for November and December on January 12, Wednesday, with analysts from Bloomberg expecting that the IIP will sit at -2.2% while the core CPI will settle at 3.5%. Its wholesale price inflation will be issued on January 16, Monday net week.
Meanwhile, the country’s main benchmark, the Sensex index surged 0.62% or 166.38 points to close at 26 893.23, contributing to its 1% jump so far this year.