USD/INR GAINS GROUND AHEAD OF INDIAN TRADE BALANCE, US RETAIL SALES DATA

• Indian Rupee loses traction despite the softer USD and lower bond yields. 
• Indian CEA said the government is worried about headline retail inflation but is confident that India can manage it well. 
• The Indian Trade Balance and US January Retail Sales will be due later on Thursday. 

Indian Rupee (INR) attracts some sellers on Thursday despite the decline of the US Dollar (USD) and lower US Treasury bond yields. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) held interest rates steady at its bi-monthly monetary policy earlier this month, with an effort to bring down headline retail inflation to 4%, while retail inflation continues to exceed 5%. 

Chief economic advisor (CEA) V. Anantha Nageswaran said that since wholesale inflation has been eased, the Indian government is little worried about headline retail inflation, but is confident that India will be able to effectively manage it. Investors expect the RBI to maintain the hawkish stance in the near term and not to ease policy ahead of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), which might lift the INR and cap the upside of the USD/INR pair. 

The Indian Trade Balance will be due at 10:00 GMT on Thursday. On the US docket, the January Retail Sales, Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, Industrial Production, and weekly Initial Jobless Claims will be released later in the day