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Rupee Stuck In A Band Ahead Of Bernanke Speech

BW Online Bureau Nov 08, 2014

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[The rupee was stuck in a narrow range on Friday as caution before US Federal Reserve head Ben Bernanke's speech around 7:30 p.m. kept traders on the sidelines. European shares and the dollar fell on Friday, with markets playing down chances of a major shift towards further economic stimulus from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day. * Negative local shares and a ranged euro also offset comfort from positive Asian peers to hold back the rupee, traders said. * Now, while some traders hope new steps will be announced by Bernanke in his speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to help achieve lift-off for an economy that is stuck on the runway, it is likely that he may only outline gradualist moves. * At 2:14 p.m., the partially convertible rupee was 46.06/07 to a dollar, little changed from Thursday's close of 46.04/05. * The euro was at $1.4435 from $1.4438 at the end of local forex trade on Thursday, while the index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.45 percent at 73.944 points, but higher from 73.961 points previously. * The local benchmark share index was down 0.87 down after rising 1 per cent in opening trades. European shares and the dollar fell on Friday, with markets playing down chances of a major shift towards further economic stimulus from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day. Bernanke was to speak later in the day at a Fed conference in Jackon Hole, Wyoming. A year ago in the same place, he opened the door to a second round of quantitative easing. Although there was some belief that he would announce a third round of asset buying this year, he is not now expected to come up with a fresh dose of shock treatment for the ailing US economy. He is expected rather to acknowledge his disappointment over the pace of growth, possibly downgrade his outlook, and explain which medicines left in the Fed's cabinet are best suited to fortify the economy. The uncertainty about what is to come has put many investors in a cautious frame of mind. "With many traders feeling like we're standing on the edge looking down into a global recession, Bernanke has the ability to significantly elate or deflate the markets today," said Jonathan Sudaria, dealer at Capital Spreads. World stocks as measured by MSCI were flat. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 lost 0.9 per cent, although an extension of a ban on short selling of financial shares and related derivatives was seen supporting hard-pressed banking stocks. Earlier, Japan's Nikkei closed up 0.3 per cent. Waiting For Ben The dollar eased as investors shuffled positions ahead of the Wyoming speech. Some traders expected the greenback to stage a short-term bounce if Bernanke does not signal further monetary stimulus. The euro edged higher against the dollar while higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars also advanced. "If Bernanke signals he is likely to be less accommodative about providing liquidity, we could see the dollar recover and depending on how Wall Street reacts to that, we could see some flows into the greenback," said Roberto Mialich, FX strategist at Unicredit. "On the other hand, if he signals that he is ready to act and provide more support, then the dollar will weaken. If he says he is ready to act but not right now, I don't think the markets will be too disappointed." Core euro zone government bonds were flat. (Reuters)