BENGALURU: The Indian rupee is expected to open little changed on Monday, though weakness in Asian counterparts will likely pressure the domestic currency.

Non-deliverable forwards indicate the rupee will open at around 81.93 to 81.96 to the US dollar, compared with its spot close of 81.93 in the previous session.

On Friday, the rupee hit an over five-week high on persistent dollar inflows and closed out its best week against the US currency since early March.

Asian currencies were trading between 0.1%-0.9% lower early on Monday.

Indian rupee seen opening slightly lower as Fed signals more hikes

The dollar index was little changed against major peers after falling 1.2% the previous week, the most in five months.

“Given the lack of significant events in the coming couple of weeks, the Indian rupee is at an advantage in the short-term and any dip in USD/INR remains a good opportunity,” said Srinivas Puni, managing director at QuantArt Market Solutions.

After digesting several central bank rate decisions last week, investors will watch out for a host of US Federal Reserve speakers this week, including Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimonies on Wednesday and Thursday.

Investors are currently pricing in a 69% probability of a quarter-basis-point hike in July, although bets of further rate hikes have ebbed slightly after mixed US data last week.

Meanwhile, US consumers’ near-term inflation expectations dropped to a more than two-year low in June, while the five-year outlook improved slightly, according to a survey that also showed sentiment perking up.

The US markets are closed for a holiday on Monday.