USD/INR Price News: Rupee stays depressed above 74.00 amid India’s covid, vaccine woes

• USD/INR picks up bids after a failed attempt to cross 74.30.
• India’s covid case total nears 20 million, chatters over months of vaccine backlog take rounds.
• Markit Manufacturing PMI for India inched up from 55.4 to 55.5 in April.
• Covid updates, US PMIs will be the key for immediate direction.

USD/INR inches up beyond 74.00, down 0.02% intraday to 74.20 amid the initial Indian session on Monday. In doing so, the quote ignores the coronavirus (COVID-19) woes at home, as well as the upbeat US dollar index (DXY), amid mildly positive risk sentiment.

India’s covid infections stay above 300K for the 12th consecutive day, per Reuters, while deaths from COVID-19 rose by 3,417 in the past 24 hours, according to health ministry data. It’s worth mentioning that the medical experts quoted in the piece cite the possibilities of real numbers to be ten times than the official tally.

Also on the negative side could be comments from Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of India’s Serum Institute, the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer, warning that shortages of jabs will persist for months after Narendra Modi’s government failed to prepare for a devastating second coronavirus wave, per Financial Times (FT).

It’s worth mentioning that India’s IHS Markit Manufacturing PMI for April inched up from 55.4 to 55.5 despite the sluggish activity and covid woes.

On the broader front, off in China and Japan restricts market moves but S&P 500 Futures stay mildly positive while the US dollar index (DXY) extends Friday’s heavy gains to a one-week high.

Looking forward, US PMIs for April will be important while talks surrounding US President Joe Biden’s stimulus and India’s COVID-19 infections shouldn’t be missed as well.

Read: US Purchasing Managers’ Index April Manufacturing Preview: Let the good times roll

Technical analysis

A clear break above 74.50, comprising late April levels, becomes necessary for the USD/INR bulls to retake the controls. Alternatively, a downside break of the latest low of 73.96 will direct sellers toward 200-day SMA, around 73.65.