Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar on Friday on bouts of dollar-selling from banks and exporters. Besides, data released by the commerce ministry showed, exports grew by 4.5% in February, the lowest expansion in the last four months, to $25.8 billion as shipments of engineering, textiles and gems and jewellery declined, while trade deficit narrowed to a five-month low of $12 billion. However, strength in dollar against other currencies overseas and weak domestic equities capped the rupee gains. On the global front, the dollar held gains against a basket of peers on Friday, as recent concerns about the currency arising from trade tensions eased slightly and next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting came into focus.
The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 64.87, stronger by 6 paise from its previous close of 64.93 on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 64.9650 and 64.8650 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 64.93 and for Euro stood at 80.32 on March 15, 2018. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 61.27, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 90.72. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
| Date | 1US$ | 1GBP |
| March 15, 2018 | 64.9366 | 90.7229 |
| March 14, 2018 | 64.9875 | 90.8265 |
(RBI-Reference Rate)
