The Indian rupee inched up on Monday on expectations that the central bank would ensure that there is no fallout of the previous session's decline to a lifetime low.
The rupee was at 83.2950 to the US. dollar, up from 83.34 on Friday. The currency traded in a choppy session on Friday, affected by a technical incident and a lifetime low of 83.42. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stepped in to help the rupee, according to traders.
"Today, we anticipate low volatility and range-bound trading. The truncated holiday week may deter large traders, and the central bank's proactive involvement is likely to limit any substantial advances in the pair," said Anindya Banerjee, head research - FX and interest rates at Kotak Securities.
"The central bank may drive USD/INR lower to offset the rise observed last Friday."
The rupee managed to shrug off the decline in Asian peers, weak risk appetite and the uptick in U.S. Treasury yields. Moody's late Friday lowered its outlook on the U.S. credit rating to "negative" from "stable", citing large fiscal deficits and a decline in debt affordability, impacting risk.
Investor focus now turns to the U.S. inflation print, due on Tuesday. U.S. headline prices likely rose by just 0.1% month-on-month in October, thanks to lower energy prices, while the more important core measure likely increased 0.3% on-month and by 4.1% on-year.
The inflation data comes on the back of comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week that indicated that he was not yet ready to call a policy peak.
