Indian rupee erased all its early losses and ended slightly higher against the dollar on Monday, due to increased selling of the American currency by exporters. The local currency got some support with report that exports jumped for the fourth month to 5.7 per cent in December to $23.8 billion, the highest since March 2015. As many as 18 of the 30 exporting sectors registered growth. Some support also came in with Moody's Investors Service and its Indian affiliate ICRA stating India will remain one of the fastest growing major economies globally in 2017, although GDP growth will moderate in the first half of the year, as the economy adjusts after demonetisation. The rating agency also believes that the government will likely achieve its fiscal deficit target of 3.5% of GDP for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2017. On the global front, the dollar skidded against the yen to its lowest levels since early December as the safe-haven Japanese currency gained against the backdrop of a selloff in sterling, as well as uncertainty about the impact of President-elect Donald Trump's future policies.
Finally, the rupee ended at 68.09, 6 paise stronger from its previous close of 68.15 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 68.26 and 68.09 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 68.15 and for Euro stood at 72.41 on January 16, 2017. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 59.79, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 81.99.The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
