Snapping its two-days losing streak, Indian rupee bounced back against dollar on Friday on heavy dollar selling by banks and exporters, amid hopes that a rebound in crude oil prices globally may halt outflows from emerging markets (EMs). The domestic currency looked strong from the very beginning and was supported by the strong recovery in the local equity market. Sentiments got a boost with RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan stating that economic reforms in India are in right direction. Some support also came with a private report that India's GDP growth rate is likely to accelerate gradually and inflation is expected to remain below 5 per cent over the next two years. On the global front, the dollar was firm against a basket of currencies on Friday, as rising expectations of monetary easing by central banks in Europe offset chances of more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
Finally, the rupee ended at 67.63, 40 paise stronger from its previous close of 68.03 on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 67.84 and 67.61 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 67.74 and for Euro stood at 73.40 on January 22, 2016. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 57.38, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 96.4461. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
