Extending the fall for the ninth day in a row, rupee fell sharply on Tuesday on account of sustained foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to liquidate their investment in debt markets and weighed on the rupee heavily. FIIs have been net sellers collectively in last nine days of trade, leading the domestic currency to weaken to over two and half month low. Rupee remained in somber mood from the beginning, pressured by the dollar requirement from oil companies to meet their month end demand and the choppiness in the local equity markets, though the equity markets recovered in the late trade but rupee continued its weak run for yet another day. On the global front, the dollar rose to two-month highs against the other major currencies, as expectations for a June rate hike continued to boost demand.
Finally, the rupee ended at 67.76, 27 paise weaker from its previous close at 67.49 on Monday. The currency touched a high and low of 67.75 and 67.64 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 67.70 and for Euro stood at 75.93 on May 24, 2016. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 61.97, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 98.0654. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
