Expect rupee to trade weak ahead of FOMC meet: Raina

Ashutosh Raina, HDFC Bank feels the Fed rate hike is almost a certainty, but the market will be keenly watching the statement to get an idea about the pace of future hikes.

He says the USD-INR pair has been under pressure breaching the Rs 67/USD figure decisively, and is expected to trade weak ahead of FOMC meet.

He expects the pair to trade in Rs 67-67.50/USD range in the short term with Central Bank (RBI) support expected to minimise losses.

On bonds, Raina says bonds have been losing on the back of negative sentiment and depreciating currency with 10-year benchmark yield breaching the 7.80 percent mark.

According to him, action should be muted ahead of FOMC meeting with an expected range of 7.75-7.85 percent.