"(On USD/INR) nowadays, minor support and resistance levels are important, considering how range-bound it is," a trader at a private sector bank said.
"The 82.50 (level) is important from the psychological point of view. The last time it reached here, it (the pair) faced good offers." The rupee, mirroring its Asian peers, struggled after a production cut of around 1.16 million barrels per day was announced by Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers. Oil prices jumped with Brent crude futures at one point up more than 8%. A rise in oil prices impacts the rupee directly in form of a higher import bill and indirectly in terms of inflation. "Surprise cut is consistent with the new OPEC+ doctrine to act pre-emptively because they can without significant losses in market share," Goldman Sachs said in a note. It raised its forecasts from Brent crude by $5 to $100 for December this year. The Reserve Bank of India's policy decision due Thursday and the U.S. jobs report scheduled for the following day are seen key for the rupee.
The RBI is expected to raise rates by 25 basis points, while the U.S. data is projected to show 238,000 job additions.
The U.S. jobs data comes on the back of lessening worries over the banking sector, meaning inflation and how the economic data pans out are now likely to be the main drivers of the Federal Reserve's decisions on interest rates. (Reporting by Nimesh Vora; Editing by Sohini Goswami)
