• Indian Rupee flatlines despite the softer US Dollar. 
• India’s S&P Global Services PMI improved to 61.8 in January from 59.0 in December, beating the estimation of 61.2.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) interest rate decision on Thursday will be the highlight of this week.

Indian Rupee (INR) trades flat on the day amid the decline of the US Dollar (USD). India’s services sector expanded at its fastest rate in six months, owing to robust demand from domestic and external clients. The S&P Global India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surged to 61.8 from 59.0 in December. The final reading came in better than the preliminary estimate of 61.2, marking the 30th consecutive month of expansion above the 50-mark. 

According to the survey, business confidence improved further at the start of the final fiscal quarter. Services businesses reported their highest levels of optimism since September. In addition to strong demand, companies expect investment and productivity gains to induce output growth. 

The Indian economy has shown real resilience amid the high inflation and monetary policy tightening from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Meanwhile, the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East posed a threat to Indian growth as disruptions in Red Sea shipping could lead to an increase in consumer prices.

Moving on, the RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to meet from February 6 to 8 and is likely to keep the repo rate unchanged for the sixth consecutive time at 6.5% on Thursday