Indian rupee extended its weakness for the second straight day against dollar on Friday due to increased demand for American currency from banks and importers, tracking losses in the Asian currencies market. Besides, firm dollar against some global currencies overseas and a weak domestic equity market too weighed on the rupee sentiment. Investors failed to get any relief with Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant’s statement that India needs to grow at ten percent to become ten trillion dollar economy and eliminate poverty by 2032. On the global front, yen was weak against the dollar on Friday after a report said that the Bank of Japan is considering expanding its negative rate policy to bank loans and could cut rates further.
Finally, the rupee ended at 66.48, 9 paise weaker from its previous close of 66.39, on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 66.60 and 66.45 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.49 and for Euro stood at 75.10 on April 22, 2016. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 60.15, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 95.4433. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
