Indian rupee strengthened against US dollar for second consecutive session on Thursday, on increased selling of the American currency by exporters and banks. Sentiments remained positive with UNCTAD’s latest report that India would be the top prospective foreign direct investment (FDI) destination globally after the U.S. and China. It also said that an improved economic outlook in major Asian economies such as India, China is likely to lift investor confidence and help boost FDI inflows by about 15 percent in 2017. However, dollar’s gains against its rivals overseas and a weak domestic equity market weakened the rupee sentiment. On the global front, euro steadied near six-month highs on Thursday ahead of a European Central Bank policy announcement while sterling set a two-week high as markets priced in a victory for Britain's Conservative Party in national elections.
Finally, the rupee ended at 64.21, 12 paise stronger from its previous close of 64.33 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 64.42 and 64.20 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 64.35 and for Euro stood at 72.50 on June 08, 2017. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 58.76, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 83.43. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
