Indian rupee weakened and breached the 68-level against the US dollar in early trade on Friday after preliminary results showed that Britain may leave the European Union (EU). Heavy demand for the American currency from importers and banks and foreign fund outflows weighed on the domestic currency. Besides, the dollar strengthening against some currencies overseas and a crash in domestic equity market, kept pressure on the rupee. On the global front, sterling suffered its most volatile session in living memory and hit its lowest level since the 1985 Plaza Accord, as Britain voted to leave the European Union, triggering a rush into safe-havens such as the yen and the dollar. The euro also dropped more than three percent against the dollar while the Swiss franc firmed along with the yen, though the wild moves made traders wary of intervention by Group of Seven countries.
The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 68.13, weaker by 88 paise from its previous close of 67.25 on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 68.2150 and 67.83 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 67.37 and for Euro stood at 76.37 on June 23, 2016. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 64.52, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 99.4721. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
| Date | 1US$ | 1GBP |
| June 23, 2016 | 67.3702 | 99.4721 |
| June 22, 2016 | 67.5570 | 99.1534 |
