Indian rupee, after making a strong start, continued to hold firm, tailing strength of Asian currencies against dollar after the US Federal Reserve indicated it was not in a rush to end quantitative easing and begin hiking rates, a development which whetted global risk appetite. Additionally, rupee was also holding up ahead of the crucial Union Budget 14-15, which will be first test of Narendra Modi’s reform mettle. The budget which promises of bold budget decisions would be presented in the backdrop of high expectation for containing tax sops for the salaried, dumping of the controversial retrospective tax and spelling out of steps to revive investment and manufacturing for growth. The local currency also has gained strength on hopes Budget will concentrate on the path of fiscal prudence and not sacrifice it at the altar of mindless populism of left-of-centre predecessors.
On the global front, U.S. dollar rose slightly against most major currencies on Wednesday as investors awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting for any indications of how soon the U.S. central bank will increase interest rates.
The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 59.68, stronger by 8 paise from its previous close of 59.76 on Wednesday. The currency has touched a high and low of 59.70 and 59.58 respectively. The currency has touched a high and low of 59.93 and 59.75 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 59.72 and for Euro stood at 81.38 on July 09, 2014. While, the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 58.79, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 102.3584. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
| Date | 1US$ | 1GBP |
| July 09, 2014 | 59.72 | 102.3584 |
| July 08, 2014 | 59.79 | 102.4200 |
(RBI-Reference Rate)
