The Indian rupee ended almost unchanged on Tuesday, snapping a two-day losing streak as gains in the euro provided support, although worries about a slowing domestic economy continued to weigh on the currency. India is expected to post April-June growth of 5.3 percent on Friday, matching the rate of the previous quarter and marking the deepest slump for nine years.
The currency's domestic concerns have been amplified as opposition parties have kept parliament in limbo over the controversial coal block allocations to private companies. "If the GDP data prints below 5 percent, there may be some immediate depreciation pressure on the rupee," said M. Natarajan, head of treasury of Scotiabank in Mumbai.
"However, if the equity markets subsequently start building in rate cut hopes, the rupee may gain to sub-55 levels." The partially convertible rupee closed at 55.6650/6750 per dollar as per the SBI closing rate, compared to its 55.69/70 close on Monday, snapping two sessions of losses.
The one-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 55.98 while the three-month was at 56.65. In the currency futures market, the most-traded near-month dollar/rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange, the MCX-SX and the United Stock Exchange all closed at around 55.6725, with a total traded volume at $4.9 billion.
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