Extending its weakness for the second straight session, Indian rupee depreciated against dollar on Monday, ahead of the release of key consumer price inflation (CPI) data due later in the day. The rupee sentiment was also hit as industrial production contracted to a four-month low of 0.4 per cent in December 2016 from the same period a year ago, due to a sharp decline in production of consumer goods. The cumulative IIP growth for April-December was 0.3% against 3.2% for the same period in 2015. Additionally, increased demand for the American currency from importers too weighed on the rupee sentiment. On the global front, dollar rose to a two-week high against yen on Monday, as investors focused again on the U.S. reflation trade which dominated the aftermath of Donald Trump's election in November but has stalled this year.
Finally, the rupee ended at 67.01, 13 paise weaker from its previous close of 66.88 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 67.03 and 66.91 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.96 and for Euro stood at 71.17 on February 13, 2017. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 58.89, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 83.76.The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
