Indian rupee strengthened on Monday due to sustained selling of the US currency by exporters and banks amid a firm domestic equity market. The domestic currency was in the positive terrain from the very beginning supported by the weak dollar index against some major currencies overseas. Rupee also got some support with data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) showing that FDI inflows into India increased by 18 percent to a record $46.4 billion in 2016 even though global economic growth remained weak. On the global front, dollar stuck to mostly tight ranges in holiday-thinned trading on Monday, but moved lower against the British pound as investors focused on a Brexit debate in the country’s House of Lords.
Finally, the rupee ended at 66.92, 10 paise stronger from its previous close of 67.02 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 67.04 and 66.89 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.97 and for Euro stood at 71.05 on February 20, 2017. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 59.16, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 83.19.The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
