The Indian rupee extended its decline against dollar on Monday as strong dollar-demand from domestic oil companies outweighed strong capital inflows. However, poor performance of local shares also added pressure on rupee. Oil importers increased oil buying in the last few days as rising tensions between Iran and the US have pushed oil prices higher on fears of supply disruptions. Meanwhile, dollar inflows is expected to remain strong, as more top Indian companies were lined up to raise funds from the market. The government plans to sell 5% of its holding in state-run oil producer ONGC, which is worth $2.5 billion at the current market price.
Finally the rupee ended at 49.23, weaker by 30 paise from its previous close of 48.93 on Friday. It has touched a high and a low of 49.98 and 48.96 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at Rs 49.0475 and for Euro it stood at Rs 65.8900 on February 27, 2012. While, the RBI's reference rate for the Yen stood at 60.54 the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 77.7795. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
