Snapping two-day winning streak, Indian rupee ended marginally lower against dollar on Wednesday due to fresh demand for the American currency from banks and importers. Investors maintained a cautious approach over a hike in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve next week. Sentiments also remained dampened with a private report stated that Consumer price inflation is likely to rise in February for the first time since demonetization and this could prompt the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to hike rates much sooner than most expect. Besides, weak trade in the domestic equity market also kept pressure on the local currency. On the global front, pound continued to hover around a seven-week low against the dollar on Wednesday, as investors and traders await Philip Hammond's first full Budget statement as Chancellor.
Finally, the rupee ended at 66.70, 3 paise weaker from its previous close of 66.67 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 66.73 and 66.62 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.63 and for Euro stood at 70.40 on March 8, 2017. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 58.61, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 81.31.The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
