The Indian Rupee (INR) surrenders mild gains after a strong opening against the US Dollar (USD), following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy decision.

USD/IDR depreciates after registering minor gains in the previous day, trading around 17,970 during the Asian hours on Wednesday. The currency pair is under downward pressure as a combination of strong Indonesian economic performance and softening US Dollar (USD) demand weighs on the pair.

India Reverse Repo Rate: 3.35%

India RBI Interest Rate Decision (Repo Rate) meets forecasts (5.25%)

Indonesia Gross Domestic Product (YoY) above expectations (5.1%) in 2Q: Actual (5.29%)

Indonesia Gross Domestic Product (QoQ) came in at 3.73%, above forecasts (3.5%) in 2Q

US President Donald Trump said that he had very productive talks with Iran, Fox News reported on Wednesday.

According to a report from Axios, the United States (US), Iran, and Oman are closing in on an interim agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with the U.S. aiming for a Wednesday announcement, sources report.

GBP/USD edges lower after registering modest gains in the previous day, trading around 1.3450 during the Asian hours on Wednesday.

China's Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) declined to 50.4 in July from 54.1 in June, the latest data published by RatingDog showed on Wednesday. This figure came in weaker than the market expectations of 53.7. 

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the weakness of the Japanese Yen (JPY) has contributed to Japan’s inflation problem and raised the risk of broader depreciation of Asian currencies, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there has been progress made in discussions with Iran and Oman on ‌getting ‌more ships through ‌the Strait of Hormuz but no final deal has been achieved, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to announce its bi-monthly monetary policy decision on Wednesday at 10:00 AM IST (04:30 GMT), another meeting coming at a time when uncertainty remains high over the duration and economic fallout of the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeff Schmid said on Wednesday that tighter monetary policy is needed to get inflation back to the 2% target. Schmid added that inflation is 'too high' and 'worrisome' and the current stance of Fed policy is not restrictive.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) board members shared their views on the monetary policy outlook on Thursday, per the BoJ Minutes of the June meeting.   

Japan Labor Cash Earnings (YoY) meets forecasts (3.4%) in June

Australia S&P Global Services PMI came in at 53.6, above expectations (53) in July

Australia S&P Global Composite PMI registered at 53.2 above expectations (52.6) in July

New Zealand’s Unemployment Rate rose to 5.6% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026 from 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the official data released by Statistics New Zealand on Wednesday. The figure came in above the market consensus of 5.4%.

Commerzbank analysts note that Vietnam’s July inflation eased to 4.5% year-on-year, keeping the average near the 4.5% target, while the trade deficit widened to USD 3.6 billion on strong import growth driven by energy and capital goods.

United Overseas Bank’s (UOB) Quek Ser Leang notes USD/SGD’s recent downside bias has faded after a dip to 1.2790 and recovery to 1.2827.

Commerzbank economist Dr. Henry Hao highlights that China’s private manufacturing PMI fell to 50.9 in July, reinforcing signs of slowing factory momentum alongside the official NBS PMI at 49.2.

UOB economists Enrico Tanuwidjaja and Vincentius Ming Shen assess Indonesia’s June 2026 trade data, highlighting that the trade deficit narrowed as stronger non-oil and gas exports partly offset rapid import growth.

National Bank of Canada’s (NBC) Jocelyn Paquet reports Canada’s merchandise trade surplus in goods reached a four-year high of C$3.86 billion in June, beating expectations.

Anna Paulson, President of the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Philadelphia, said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday that underlying inflation remains too high and that monetary policy needs to stay mildly restrictive, adding that the current environment likely meets that description.

Standard Chartered analysts Dan Pan and Steve Englander discuss the Federal Reserve’s Financial Conditions Impulse on Growth (FCI-G) index, noting it was highly accommodative in May 2026 and still supportive after the July FOMC.

The number of job openings stood at 7.359 million in June, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday. This print followed the 7.537 million openings reported in May and came in slightly below the market expectation of 7.4 million.

TD Securities’ Australia/NZ macro team sees New Zealand Employment growth at 0.1% q/q in Q2, insufficient to match population gains. They expect the Unemployment Rate to rise to 5.4%, returning to its recent cycle high and aligning with the RBNZ’s May forecast.

Lee Hardman at MUFG highlights that the US Dollar index has fallen back below 100.00 following last week’s FOMC meeting, as the Fed left rates on hold and Chair Kevin Warsh offered less hawkish guidance.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday that a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday. He added that he expects Energy prices to "settle back down".