• USD/INR stays on the front foot after reversing from 13-day low on Friday.
• Strong US NFP renews hawkish Fed concerns while softer India data allows RBI to defend status quo.
• Risk-off mood, higher Oil price also weigh on Indian Rupee ahead of the key week.
• Second-tier US data, risk catalysts may entertain intraday traders.

USD/INR extends recovery from 50-day EMA to around 82.50 heading into Monday’s European session. In doing so, the Indian Rupee (INR) pair cheers the US Dollar strength, as well as downbeat sentiment and the firmer Crude Oil price to propel the pair of late.

Adding strength to the USD/INR recovery could be the consolidation ahead of this week’s Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monetary Policy Meeting, up for Thursday.

Above all, a monetary policy divergence between the Fed and the RBI, mainly due to the latest streams of the US and India data, allow the USD/INR pair to remain firmer. Adding strength to the USD/INR pair could be the latest strength of the WTI Crude Oil and the risk-off mood, led by the fears of the US-China tussle and the Russia-Ukraine war.

That said, Friday’s US NFP bolstered calls for the Fed’s 0.25% rate hike in June, as well as slashed the odds favoring the Fed rate cut in 2023. The same allowed the US Dollar Index (DXY) to remain firmer and favor the corrective bounce in the US Treasury bond yields.

On the other hand, the market’s sour sentiment due to the geopolitical concerns about China, Russia, Ukraine and the US join the concerns about the RBI’s likely monetary policy inaction, mainly due to the Indian economics suggesting easy inflation and softer growth, to propel the USD/INR price.

Against this backdrop, the US 10-year and two-year Treasury bond yields recover after snapping a three-week uptrend by the end of the last Friday. That said, the S&P500 Futures also portray the risk-off mood by mild losses as it retreats from the highest levels since August 2022. The same underpins the US Dollar Index (DXY) strength ahead of the US Factory Orders and ISM Services PMI for May.

Moving on, US Factory Orders and ISM Services PMI for May will entertain intraday traders whereas Thursday’s RBI Interest Rate Decision becomes the key event for the USD/INR pair watchers.