USD/INR opens at 3-week high on buying by PSBs, oil bids

The Indian rupee little changed at 69.33 pair now at 69.51 against 69.24 previous close.
Pair to tip in 69.30-69.65 range today.
Dollar/rupee opens at three-week high Monday on buying by nationalised banks likely on behalf of oil importers demand tracking sharp surge in Brent. Brent is trading above $70/bbl and PSBs including Bank of Baroda is buying dollars mostly on behalf of oil importers. Also, concerns over Brexit weigh on sentiments and support dollar demand. Brent crude oil prices breached $70/ bbl, rising to their highest level since Nov, 2018, driven up by OPEC's ongoing supply cuts, US sanctions against Iran and Venezuela.

The dollar retained modest gains on Monday after a U.S. jobs report put to bed fears of a sharper slowdown in the world's largest economy. The closely watched data released on Friday showed nonfarm payrolls rose by a solid 196,000 in March, topping expectations and giving riskier assets a much-needed lift. dollar index against a basket of six major currencies .DXY was little changed at 97.383 after edging up 0.1 percent on Friday.
The Sino-U.S. trade talks don't look to end any time soon and market focus will drift to Europe this week, as Brexit nears its next milestone on April 12. Sterling last traded at $1.3069 for a gain of 0.25 percent. The euro added 0.1 percent to $1.1230 EUR= after dipping slightly against the dollar on Friday.

Oil prices rose to their highest level since November 2018 on Monday, driven upwards by OPEC's ongoing supply cuts, U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela, and strong U.S. jobs data.
Gold prices rose to a one-week peak on Monday as the dollar edged lower, while investors awaited minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's March meeting later this week. Spot gold gained about 0.4 percent to $1,295.81 per ounce.

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