Indian rupee ended stronger on the last trading day of the week due to selling of the American currency by banks and exporters. The domestic currency was also supported by the modest gains in equity markets, which despite some choppiness managed a positive close. The currency recouped all its early losses to end stronger. Sentiment further got support with Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu expressing confidence that bills pertaining to formation of a realty regulator and the much-awaited indirect taxation reform GST will be passed in the upcoming Budget session. Meanwhile, investors remained cautious ahead of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data scheduled to be released later in the day. On the global front, yen was firm against the dollar, as deepening worries about global growth and whether policymakers have enough ammunition to respond to it underpinned flows into safe-haven currencies.
Finally, the rupee ended at 68.24, 6 paise stronger from its previous close of 68.30 on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 68.47 and 68.14 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 68.43 and for Euro stood at 77.36 on February 12, 2016. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 60.94, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 98.9797. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
