Ella 
The Indian rupee (INR) weakened on Friday after hitting a one-week high in the previous session. The latest data released on Friday showed that the HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 57.1 in February, down from 57.5 in January. In addition, India’s services PMI rose to 61.1 in February from 56.5 in the previous month. The composite PMI improved to 60.6 in February from 57.7 in January. The local currency’s immediate reaction to the mixed PMI data remained weak.
Foreign investment (FPI) outflows and a pick-up in dollar demand put pressure on the local currency. A recovery in crude oil prices could also have a downward impact on the Indian rupee as India is the world’s third-largest oil consumer. Any significant depreciation of the Indian rupee is likely to be limited given the likely intervention of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Traders were awaiting the release of the S&P Global PMI, existing home sales and Michigan consumer sentiment reports in the U.S. later on Friday. Additionally, Mary Daly and Philip Jefferson of the Federal Reserve (Fed) will also speak on the same day.
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