Indian rupee strengthened for the third straight session to hit its highest level since November 2015, against the US dollar on Wednesday on continued dollar selling by banks and exporters amid hopes of increased foreign investments in equities. Sentiments also boosted after results over the weekend showed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) scored an overwhelming win in the key northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Besides, dollar weakness overseas too gave the rupee an upper hand. However, gains remained capped with the data showed that retail inflation rose to a 4-month high of 3.65 per cent in February and wholesale prices shot up to a 39-month high of 6.55 per cent. On the global front, US dollar traded in a narrow rage against yen as investors await the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting later in the day.
Finally, the rupee ended at 65.69, 13 paise stronger from its previous close of 65.82 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 65.78 and 65.40 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 65.51 and for Euro stood at 69.62 on March 15, 2017. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 57.08, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 80.06.The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
