Indian rupee pared some of its early losses but ended marginally weaker against the American currency on Wednesday, due to fresh dollar demand from banks and importers amid foreign fund outflows. Investors remained concerned after retail inflation increased to 2.36% in July from 1.46% in June, wholesale inflation rose to 1.88%, showing effects of implementation of GST and 7th Pay Commission. This effectively shoots down the probability of any near-term interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Besides, strength in the US dollar against some other currencies overseas too weighed on the rupee sentiment. Though, splendid gains of local equities limited further depreciation of Indian currency. On the global front, dollar held near a three-week high on Wednesday against a trade-weighted basket of its rivals as strong US retail sales data boosted risk appetite, though markets were wary of chasing gains due to lurking geopolitical risks.
Finally, the rupee ended at 64.15, 3 paise weaker from its previous close of 64.12 on Monday. The currency touched a high and low of 64.33 and 63.13 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 64.24 and for Euro stood at 75.37 on August 16, 2017. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 58.01, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 82.61. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
