Indian rupee depreciating for fifth straight week, concluded weak, past ‘62/$’ mark on Friday as massive gains in local equities failed to lift rupee as foreign fund inflows were easily absorbed by importers looking to meet month-end import commitments. Additionally, prevailing caution ahead of the release of Q2 GDP data which came above street expectation at 5.3% as compared to 5.7% for Q1, weighed on the sentiment. On the global front, dollar strengthened on Friday after OPEC decided not to cut oil output, slamming commodity currencies like the Norwegian crown, which fell to five-year lows against the greenback and euro.
Finally the rupee ended at 62.03, weaker by 18 paise from its previous close of 61.85 on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 62.10 and 61.87 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 61.97 and for Euro stood 77.16 on November 27, 2014. While, the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 52.45, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 97.3667. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
