Rupee weakens to 66.83 against US dollar in opening trade.

Mumbai: The Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar tracking the losses in Asian currencies markets and ahead of the Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) data for September due on Thursday after 5.30pm.

The home currency opened at 66.83 a dollar. At 9.13am, the rupee was trading at 66.81 against the US dollar, down 0.41% from its previous close of 66.53.

Asian currencies were trading lower after minutes of the last US Federal Reserve policy meeting indicated a December rate increase was still on the cards.

South Korean won was down 0.48%, Malaysian ringgit 0.24%, China Offshore 0.13%, Thai Baht 0.12%, Taiwan dollar 0.11%, Indonesian rupiah 0.07%, Singapore dollar 0.06%, China renminbi 0.06%.

However, Japanese yen was up 0.59%, Philippines peso 0.27%.

Traders are also cautious ahead of the consumer and wholesale-based inflation data on Thursday and Friday, respectively, for September. According to Bloomberg analyst expectations, CPI will be at 4.70% in September against 5.05% a month ago. Wholesale Price Index will be at 3.85% in September versus 3.74% in August.

On Monday, India’s factory output as measured by the index of industrial production (IIP) contracted for the second consecutive month by 0.7% in August as mining and manufacturing sectors contracted and growth in electricity generation was negligible

India’s benchmark Sensex Index was trading at 28,099.25 points, up 0.06% from its previous close. So far this year, it has gained 7.44%.

The benchmark 10-year government bond yield was trading at 6.714% compared to Monday’s close of 6.716%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The rupee is down 1% till date this year, while foreign institutional investors have bought $7.76 billion in equity and sold $452.80 million in debt markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 97.86, down 0.11% from its previous close of 97.966.

Source : livemint.com