At 9.15am, the rupee was at 64.96, up 0.33% from its previous close of 65.17

The Indian rupee was trading higher against the US dollar ahead of key Consumer Price Index-based (CPI) inflation and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data due on Monday after 5.30pm.

The home currency opened at 64.95 a dollar. At 9.15am, the rupee was at 64.96, up 0.33% from its previous close of 65.17.

The government will issue IIP and CPI for January and February, respectively, after 5.30pm on Monday. According to Bloomberg analysts’ estimates, IIP for January will be at 6.4% from 7.1% a month ago, while CPI for February will be 4.74% versus 5.07% last month.

India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 0.2%, or 54 points, to 33,360. So far this year, Sensex has fallen 2.4%.

Yields on 10-year government bonds was at 7.697% compared to Friday’s close of 7.671%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Year to date, the rupee weakened 1.7%, while foreign investors have bought $142.10 million and $857.50 million in equity and debt markets, respectively.

Asian currencies were trading higher as risk appetite returned after data on Friday showed the US economy in good health but without a sharp increase in wages that spurred inflationary fears last month. Payrolls rose 313,000 in February, compared with the 205,000 median estimate in a survey of economists. The jobless rate was at 4.1%.

South Korean won was up 0.47%, Indonesian rupiah 0.29%, Japanese yen 0.2%, Singapore dollar 0.15%, Taiwan dollar 0.11%, Malaysian ringgit 0.11%, Philippines peso 0.1%, China renminbi 0.08% and China offshore 0.08%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 90.01, down 0.09% from its previous close of 90.093.

source: livemint.com