Rupee gains as Fed's Jerome Powell hints at slower US rate hikes

So far in 2022, the Fed has hiked rates by a total of 375 bps, leading to a stronger dollar and diminishing the appeal of emerging market assets

The rupee and government bonds strengthened sharply on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that going forward, the US central bank may reduce the pace of what has been an extremely aggressive policy tightening cycle so far in 2022.

The domestic currency closed at 81.22 per dollar on Thursday as against 81.43 per dollar at previous close. The rupee has appreciated 0.6 per cent over the last couple of days. So far in 2022, however, the local unit has depreciated 8.5 per cent versus the greenback.

Late Wednesday, Powell said at the Brookings Institute, that smaller rate increases