Rupee opens lower in sync with Asian currencies at 82.12 against dollar

The rupee opened marginally lower on July 19, tracking weaker Asian currencies after US retail sales growth fell short of expectations and weighted on treasuries and the dollar.

At 9.15am, the home currency was trading at 82.12 to a dollar, down 0.1 percent from its previous close at 82.03.

Despite headline retail sales falling below estimates, the core consumer spending showed resilience on the back of a robust labour market. The retail sales report had a mixed outcome, coinciding with the release of softer US CPI and PPI data. Nevertheless, the overall economic data, gauged by the Economic Surprise Index, remains positive. Earlier this month, the US ESI reached a two-year peak before experiencing a slight decline.

Asian currencies were trading lower on Wednesday morning. South Korean won fell 0.5 percent, Taiwan dollar 0.4 percent, Philippines peso 0.33 percent, China Renminbi 0.3 percent, Japanese yen 0.29 percent, Singapore dollar 0.17 percent, and Malaysian ringgit was down 0.1 percent. Indonesian rupiah, however, edged up 0.11 percent.