Indian rupee extending its weakness for the second straight day depreciated against dollar on Wednesday ahead of the outcome of US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meet later in the day. Besides, month end demand for the greenback from banks and importers despite dollar remaining weak against other currencies overseas dented rupee sentiment. The sentiments were under pressure with the SBI Composite Index falling below the 50 mark to 47.3 in January. Manufacturing activity in the country dipped to a one-year low, suggesting moderation in growth. Further equity market which managed to end in positive despite having volatility failed to buttress the rupee. On the global front, dollar was slightly lower against the yen on Wednesday, as investors turned cautious ahead of potentially market-moving news from monetary policy meetings in the U.S. and Japan later this week.
Finally, the rupee ended at 68.05, 22 paise weaker from its previous close of 67.83 on Monday. The currency touched a high and low of 68.10 and 67.93 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 67.98 and for Euro stood at 73.81 on January 27, 2016. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 57.45, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 97.5109. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
