Recouping most of the early losses, Indian rupee ended tad lower against the dollar on Wednesday for the second straight day, on the back of demand of the US currency from importers and banks. A negative set of macroeconomic data weighted down on the rupee sentiments. India’s industrial growth in October hit a 3-month low of 2.2%, while retail inflation in November climbed to a 15-month high of 4.88%. Besides, weak domestic stock markets, rise in global crude oil prices and a resurgent dollar against other currencies ahead of the Fed policy announcement later in the day kept the rupee on the edge. On the global front, the dollar slipped against the yen on Wednesday after the Democratic candidate won a bitter fight for a US Senate seat in deeply conservative Alabama, injecting fresh uncertainty about the outlook for the greenback in the coming months.
Finally, the rupee ended at 64.44, 4 paise weaker from its previous close of 64.40 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 64.56 and 64.42 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 64.45 and for Euro stood at 75.77 on December 13, 2017. While the RBI's reference rate for the Yen stood at 56.87, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 85.94. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
