Morning Alert..
*RBI net bought US dollars for first time in five months in November*
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) net purchased US dollar worth $4.36 billion in the domestic currency market in November 2022, marking the first time since May 2022 that the central bank net bought the US currency. The RBI purchased US dollar worth $22.28 billion and sold US dollar worth $17.92 billion in November, data in the central bank’s January 2023 Bulletin showed. In April and May of 2022, the RBI had net bought $1.9 billion and $2 billion, respectively, in the foreign exchange market. However, from June to October, the central bank sold dollars every month. In June, the net sales were at $3.7 billion, followed by $19.05 billion in July. In August, the RBI net sold $4.3 billion, followed by $10.36 billion in September and $922 million in October.
*Current account deficit likely to narrow in 2023: RBI's January bulletin*
Lead indicators suggest that domestic current account deficit (CAD) is likely to reduce in 2023, while macro-economic stability has received a boost from inflation being brought back to the official tolerance band, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) January 2023 Bulletin. “With the merchandise trade deficit reaching an all-time high of $83.5 billion in a quarter, and a rise in net outgo from the income account, the current account deficit increased to 4.4 per cent of GDP in Q2FY23,” the State of the Economy article in the Bulletin said. “It is noteworthy, however, that the CAD for Q1 was revised down from 2.8 per cent to 2.2 per cent on account of downward adjustment in Customs data. Similar adjustments may impinge on the CAD for Q2FY23 as Customs data or imports are revised,” the RBI staff wrote.
*Outward remittances under LRS scheme near $2 billion in Nov: RBI*
Indians remitted close to $2 billion in November under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) liberalised remittance scheme (LRS), latest data released by the central bank showed. Outward remittances under the scheme jumped 29 per cent to $1.99 billion compared to $1.54 billion in the year-ago month. Sequentially, outward remittances under the scheme were up about 3.5 per cent. International travel continued to remain over 50 per cent of the entire outward remittance by Indians under the scheme. In November, outward remittances for international travel touched $1.03 billion, up 2.25 times from the year-ago period. In 2021, international travel was marred by Covid-related restrictions but slowly picked up later.
*Commodity play*
Gold – Rs 56424/10gm, Silver – Rs 67307/kg, Brcrude – Rs 6408/barrel, Degumsyoil – Rs 1296/10kg, Copper – Rs 769/kg.
*Corporate News*
Multiplex operator PVR back in the black in Q3, revenue jumps 53%.
Asian Paints Q3 results: Net profit rises 5.6% to Rs 1,072.7 crore.
HUL Q3 results: Net profit beats estimates, royalty to parent bumped up.
SGX Nifty indicates positive start to Indian markets trading at 18136 levels up by 0.12% or 22 points. Dow Jones ended yesterday`s session in red down by 0.76% at close.
Sector in focus – Banks, FMCG, Real-Estate & Metals.
