Indian rupee appreciated against US dollar on Wednesday, ahead of key economic data i.e. May IIP and June CPI data, scheduled to be released later in the day. Traders took some support with statement of Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will help bring down the inflation by one to two percent by the end of this year. He also said that the government’s objective is to ensure that inflation does not increase, and added that the government has tried to keep items frequently used by the consumers under the lower tax bracket. Moreover, positive gains in domestic equities along with dollar’s weakness against other currencies overseas buoyed the rupee sentiment. On the global front, US dollar fell against yen and languished at 14-month lows against euro on Wednesday ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s appearance in Congress to give testimony on monetary policy.
Finally, the rupee ended at 64.53, 5 paise stronger from its previous close of 64.58 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 64.61 and 64.48 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 64.49 and for Euro stood at 73.97 on July 12, 2017. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 56.85, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 82.69. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
