Rupee recoups from 7-week low; opens at 70.14 a dollar

The dollar index versus a basket of six major currencies stood at 98.128 after advancing to 98.322 on Thursday, its highest since May 2017.

Data on Thursday showed new orders for US-made capital goods increased by the most in eight months in March.

The markets are watching first-quarter U.S. gross domestic product data due later on Friday (1230 GMT) for signs of whether the United States remains stronger than other leading economies, reported Reuters.

In commodity markets, oil prices declined amid hopes that OPEC will soon raise output to make up for a drop in exports from Iran.

International Brent crude futures were at $74.16 per barrel at 0223 GMT, down 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last close.

Crude futures rose to 2019 highs earlier in the week after the United States said on Monday it would end all exemptions for sanctions against Iran, demanding countries halt oil imports from Tehran from May or face punitive action from Washington.

A rebound in oil prices pushes up oil import costs and will widen India’s currency account deficit, say economists.

A report by Care Ratings suggested that a permanent increase in crude oil prices by 10 percent under ceteris paribus conditions could translate into the current account deficit increasing by 0.4-0.5 percent of GDP while the rupee can weaken by 3-4 per cent on an annual basis.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds were up 0.28 percent to 7.45 percent from its previous close of 7.43 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.