Piling on yesterday’s loss, Indian rupee weakened further against the American currency on Wednesday, following bouts of month-end dollar demand from banks and importers amid continued capital outflows. Cautiousness remained in the markets with report that growth in India’s factory activity slowed to a four-month low in February as new orders eased and weighed on output after manufacturers raised prices at the fastest pace in a year. The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 52.1 in February from January’s 52.4. Traders also maintained cautious approach ahead of domestic economic data including December quarter gross domestic product (GDP) to be released later in the day. On the global front, dollar hit a three-week high on Wednesday, after an upbeat assessment of the US economy by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s boosted bets on more interest rate hikes, while the euro edged lower before inflation data.
Finally, the rupee ended at 65.17, 28 paise weaker from its previous close of 64.89 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 65.31 and 65.04 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 65.10 and for Euro stood at 79.58 on February 28, 2018. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 60.80, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 90.44. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
