USD/INR ends up on strong dlr, oil bids

The rupee settled at 68.71 against 68.5375 at the previous close. The local unit moved in 68.52-68.7550 per dollar band intra-day.
Dollar/rupee ended up Tuesday tracking a strong greenback amid buying by oil importers. Major banks across segments bought dollars after the dollar index rose sharply. USD found support from pound's fall. Some oil importers were also seen buying in spot around Rs 68.65/$1 level. Dollar/rupee ended at Rs 68.71/$1 Tuesday compared to previous close of Rs 68.53/$1.The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies.

The euro fell on Tuesday after signs of deteriorating sentiment among German investors, although the prospect of more central bank easing - starting with the Federal Reserve later this month - meant another day of small, contained currency moves. U.S. retail sales numbers for June arrive later on Tuesday and investors will be looking to see whether such data support a rate cut of 25 or 50 basis points.
Sterling was back on the ropes, skidding below $1.25 GBP=D3 and hitting a new six-month low versus the euro of 90.25 pence EURGBP=D3 after the two men vying to be Britain's next prime minister were seen to be toughening their line on Brexit negotiations.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as tensions in the Middle East outweighed the impact of a resumption of production in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Barry and a boom in U.S. supply from shale oil. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 rose by 19 cents to $59.77 a barrel.
Gold prices held steady on Tuesday as investors awaited retail sales data from the United States later in the session for cues on the health of the world's largest economy.

Date	Time	Currency	Event	Actual	Forecast	Previous
16/07/2019	14.00	GBP	Average Earnings Index +Bonus (May)	3.4%	3.1%	3.2%
16/07/2019	14.00	GBP	Claimant Count Change (Jun)	38.0K	18.9K	24.5K
16/07/2019	14.30	EUR	German ZEW Economic Sentiment (Jul)	-24.5	-22.1	-21.1

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