USDINR OPENED AT 69.67/68

USDINR maintain opening gain, On Friday USDINR opened with 19 pips firm @ 69.67/68 after Thursday finished with 0.36% gain @69.86/87 level. Domestic currency is favorable on the basis of Global support as well as Bond Yields muted.

The dollar was on tenterhooks early Asia before a meeting of U.S. and Chinese leaders to discuss contention trade issues that might provide a catalyst for the near term direction of riskier assets such as stocks and safe havens including the greenback and the yen.

The U.S. currency has been shaken up this week on growing expectations that the Federal Reserve would slow down its rate hikes, a view given credence in comments on Wednesday by Chairman Jerome Powell.

INTRADAY RANGE - 69.40 (69.55 - 69.96) 71.15

India's economic growth seen slowing

India’s annual economic growth probably moderated to 7.4 percent in the July-September quarter, according to a Reuters poll, weakening just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist led-government gets set for an election due by May.

That is still faster than China, but a come down from the more than two-year high of 8.2 percent set in the June quarter and some economists foresee the slowdown continuing though to the election at least.

Meantime, while the growth rate may look respectable, the weakening trend is worrying as India needs growth of 8-percent-plus to generate enough jobs for the more than 12 million young Indians entering the labor force each year.

Arvind Subramanian has said demonetisation

Demonetization was a massive, draconian, monetary shock: in one fell swoop 86% of the currency in circulation was withdrawn… Real GDP growth was clearly affected by demonetization. Growth had been slowing even before, but after demonetization, the slide accelerated. In the six quarters before demonetization, growth averaged 8 per cent and in the seven quarters after, it averaged about 6.8%