Indian rupee ended lower against dollar on Monday due to demand for the American currency from banks and importers. Besides, capital outflows from the equity market and strengthening of dollar against other currencies overseas hit the rupee sentiment. Furthermore, sentiments got dampened on reports that exports contracted for 13th month in a row in December 2015 as outward shipments shrank 14.75% to $22.2 billion amid a global demand slowdown. On the global front, yen shed its earlier gains after China's central bank unveiled a fresh step to curb offshore speculation in the yuan and also set a firmer guidance rate, soothing worries about the risk of a rapid fall in the yuan.
Finally, the rupee ended at 67.68, 8 paise weaker from its previous close of 67.60 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 67.73 and 67.49 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 67.58 and for Euro stood at 73.61 on January 18, 2016. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 57.68, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 96.4819. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
