Rising for the third straight day, Indian rupee ended marginally stronger against dollar on Wednesday, owing to dollar sale by exporters and banks. Traders took support with data indicating that India’s annual wholesale price inflation eased in February for the third straight month, helped by a softer rise in food and fuel prices. February WPI Inflation at 2.48% against 2.84% M-o-M basis. However, gains were limited as some concern came with a report highlighting that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is unlikely to reduce key policy rates in 2018 despite a dip in retail inflation in February. As per the report, risks like the higher minimum support prices (MSPs) for food grains promised in the budget can push up the inflation in the next fiscal year. On the global front, dollar held near one-week lows on Wednesday as the sudden dismissal of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and news that Washington is seeking to impose tariffs of up to $60 billion of Chinese imports reverberated through currency markets.
Finally, the rupee ended at 64.83, 6 paise stronger from its previous close of 64.89 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 65.06 and 64.83 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 64.98 and for Euro stood at 80.58 on March 14, 2018. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 60.99, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 90.82. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
