Indian rupee traded marginally weaker against dollar in early deals on Monday as traders avoided long positions owing to a shortened week. Indian markets will be closed on 24 March on account of Holi festival. Markets across the world will be shut on 25 March for Good Friday. However, dollar’s weakness against other currencies overseas and a higher opening in the domestic equity market, capped some losses. On the global front, the safe-haven yen was broadly firmer on Monday, particularly against its New Zealand and Australian peers, as the mood turned sour with most Asian share markets down.
The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 66.52, weaker by 2 paise from its previous close of 66.50 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 66.5550 and 66.43 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.60 and for Euro stood at 75.30 on March 18, 2016. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 59.87, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 96.3230. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
| Date | 1US$ | 1GBP |
| March 18, 2016 | 66.6088 | 96.3230 |
| March 17, 2016 | 66.8806 | 95.1644 |
(RBI-Reference Rate)
