Indian rupee ended substantially stronger against dollar on Thursday due to increased selling of the American currency by exporters even as the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. This is the third consecutive session for which rupee ended higher. Besides, gains in equity market too supported the domestic currency. The sentiments, further got some support after credit rating agency Fitch Ratings stated that India is better placed than many of its peers after the American central bank, the US Federal Reserve, raised its key interest rates. On the global front, Euro was little changed versus its major currency counterparts on Thursday after German IFO figures fell below expectations. The German Business Climate index dropped to 108.7 in December, below the prior and expected print of 109.0.
Finally, the rupee ended at 66.42, 31 paise stronger against its previous close of 66.73 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 66.67 and 66.42 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.64 and for Euro stood at 72.32 on December 17, 2015. While, the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 54.43 the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 99.6133. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
