The Rupee opened weak and is poised to breach the 92-per-dollar level for the first time at open on Thursday, pressured by the U.S. dollar's rally in the non-deliverable forward markets and broad weakness across Asian currencies, with traders on alert for possible central bank intervention. The dollar/rupee 1-month deliverable forward continued to climb after usual local trading hours, touching nearly 92.50, a Singapore-based hedge fund portfolio manager said. The key question now is how the Reserve Bank of India reacts if the rupee slips past 92, whether it allows dollar/rupee to reprice higher or steps in to pull it back. The dollar index recovered slightly on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve's policy decision had little overall impact on the dollar, while U.S. Treasury yields rose after the Fed acknowledged that inflation remained elevated and the labour market continued to stabilize. The dollar remained on shaky ground on Thursday, as uncertainty ?over U.S. economic policies and geopolitical moves were only partially offset by supportive comments from the White House ?and European officials following a rout in the currency. On the monetary policy front, the Federal Reserve struck a more sanguine tone on the U.S. labour market and inflation risks overnight, which investors took to imply that rates could be on hold for longer. The dollar was in free fall earlier this week and hit a four-year low after U.S. President Donald Trump seemed to shrug off the currency's weakness, though it found a ?floor after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a day later that Washington has a strong-dollar policy. The euro , which ?broke above the key $1.20 level on the back of the dollar's decline, traded just below that at $1.1979 in Asia, after European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers similarly flagged growing concerns over its quick appreciation. While the heavy dollar selling abated on Thursday, the ?currency remained on the back foot. It fell 0.5% against the Swiss franc to 0.7656, close to an 11-year low, while sterling hovered near a ?4-1/2-year high ?at $1.3826. The Australian dollar , which has drawn additional support from bets of a rate hike at home as soon as next week, scaled a three-year peak of $0.70495. The dollar selloff from earlier this week had been the sharpest since Trump's tariff blitz rocked markets last April.Already down 2% for the year, its weakness has been driven by concern over Trump's erratic policymaking, attacks on the Fed and what it could mean ?for the rate outlook and, most ?recently, signals on Friday the U.S. ?was willing to sell dollars to help Japan to boost the yen. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was at 96.24 , languishing near Tuesday's four-year low of 95.566. Its slide has provided some reprieve for the ailing yen , which rose 0.12% to 153.21 per dollar on Thursday. The Japanese currency has tracked around the 152-154 per dollar ?range for most of this week thanks to talk of rate checks from ?the U.S. and Japan last week - a move often seen as a precursor to intervention. Oil prices rose for a third day on Thursday on increasing concerns the U.S. may carry out a military attack on key Middle Eastern producer Iran that could disrupt supply from the region. Brent crude futures rose 50 cents, or 0.73%, to $68.9 a barrel by 0216 GMT, but U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 58 cents, or 0.92%, to $63.79 a barrel.......
The US dollar weakened sharply against other major currencies after data showed that the US economy suffered a record contraction in Apr-Jun, while jobless claims rose in the week ended Saturday also rose.The US unit also extended its decline globally on Thursday after Trump raised the possibility of delaying presidential election in the US, scheduled for November.European Stocks ended lower on Thursday due to mounting concern over sluggish economic recovery and a possible second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.Germany reported its worst decline in GDP since 1970, with the Eurozone’s largest economy shrinking 10.1% quarter-on-quarter in Apr-Jun.Corporate earnings were high on investors' agenda on Thursday.In the US, Most share indices ended lower on Wednesday following bleak economic data.Lack of progress in talks between Congressional Democrats, Republicans and the White House on a new coronavirus aid package also weighed on sentiment.Gold futures settled lower on Thursday after nine consecutive days of gains, with the bullion retreating from a record rally as traders booked some profit.......