Witnessing weak financial market and strengthening of US Dollar, Indian Rupee depreciated to close at 75.91. After opening at 75.85, it rallied and dropped further to low of 75.91 against US Dollar. Indian Rupee settled 33 paise weaker after closing at 75.58 on Friday against US Dollar.
The extension of lockdown till 31st May 2020 with relaxations would not help to strengthen the currency. Also, forex investors were not convinced by the details of the relief package announced by the Government.
Japan fell into recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic as GDP dropped by 3.4% for the 4th quarter of the fiscal year 2019-2020. National Emergency announcement in April and a drop of 21.5% was projected by experts in GDP, which affected other Asian countries.
USD/INR: Crude Oil at One Month High
Brent Crude oil surged by 3.7% to USD 33.71 per barrel and US WTI increased by 5.4% to close at USD 31.02 per barrel, marking highest increase level since the worst day in crude oil history.
Crude oil prices surged due to an increase in global demand along with production cuts by major producers. It helped oil prices gain more than USD 1 per barrel. Analysts expect crude oil prices to increase further and follow continuous improvement with economies opening up.
Gold Price Rise as Tension in the economy rises
US Spot gold surged by 0.9% to settle at USD 1756.79 an ounce. US gold futures increased by 0.5% to close at USD 1765.70.
The gold prices surged high due to increasing tension between the US and China. Also, the increasing cases of Coronavirus globally created tension, helping other precious metals to escalate. SPDR Gold holdings surged by 0.8% to a total of 1113.78 tonnes on Friday.
ICICI sets USD/INR Target in Between 75.60 – 75.70
Equity market being unstable and US Dollar index moving solidly towards 100.5 against FOMC forced Indian Rupee to experience a downfall.
The open interest dropped by 5.1% last week as INR depreciated to 75.88 against US Dollar. As per experts at ICICI, Indian Rupee can see upliftment if US Dollar index shifts to 100 from the previous level of 100.5. It can help Rupee appreciate and trade-in a positive range.