CURRENCY OVERVIEW

The Indian rupee opens strong and is poised to climb at the open on Thursday after oil prices tumbled on bets that the Republican Party's losses in the US midterm elections could push President Donald Trump towards ‌an exit from the Iran war. Brent futures fell 97 cents, or 1.03% ‌at $93.65 a barrel as of 0211 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.14, or 1.29%, to $86.98. overall, Brent crude tumbled about 8.5% to well below $100 after President Donald Trump's Republican Party lost control of Congress in midterm elections. The Democratic Party's decisive victory will mean they will be "more confident" about pushing back against Trump's policies on Iran, support of Israel and any escalation of tariffs. The dollar edged lower on Thursday in the aftermath of the overwhelming victory by Democrats in US midterm elections that cleared a major source of uncertainty and fuelled a rally in global equities. The yen firmed after minutes of the Bank of Japan's September meeting reinforced expectations for further interest ‌rate hikes, while sterling held near a seven-week high ahead of a Bank of England policy decision expected to deliver another rate increase. The greenback fell 0.06% to 101.41, after a 0.36% decline in the prior session. The euro was up 0.12% at $1.1241. The yen strengthened 0.08% to 158.25 per dollar. Sterling was up 0.38% at $1.3462, after rising to a more than seven-week high of $1.3503 ahead of the Bank of England's policy announcement on Thursday. The pound was poised for its sixth straight daily gain, its longest run higher since an eight-session streak that ended ?on July 6. The BOE expected to raise rates to contend with inflation pressure from soaring energy costs, although it may push back against investors' bets that several more increases will follow next year. BoE policymakers have been split on whether they want at least preliminary signs of second-round effects before hiking rates, or if that risks delaying a rate rise too long ?to curb inflation, which has exceeded target for almost all of the past five years. Financial markets currently price in at least three quarter-point rate rises for next year, on top of one this month, which would take British interest rates above those projected for the United States. Gold prices climbed nearly 2% to a ‌two-week high on Thursday, supported by a weaker US dollar and lower US Treasury yields in the wake of a Democratic midterm election wave. Spot gold rose 1.9% to $4,134.83 per ounce by 0316 GMT, hitting its highest since October 22. Bullion climbed about 3.4% on Wednesday, its biggest daily gain since August 19. US gold futures for December delivery climbed 1.8% ?to $4,144.20. A weaker dollar and lower Treasury yields have helped gold recover above the key $4,000 level, though holding above that threshold remains crucial for the recovery outlook. A ‌weaker ?dollar makes greenback-priced bullion more affordable for holders of other currencies. Meanwhile, Citi has a 0-3 month price target of $4,500 per ounce for gold, it said on Wednesday, as it sees substantial upside potential if the Strait of Hormuz ?reopens and the Yemen/Saudi conflict de-escalates by the year-end, as it expects. Among other metals, spot silver rose 1.7% to $53.12 per ounce, platinum gained 2.1% to $1,527.65 and palladium climbed 2.6% to $1,030.14.

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