Indian rupee pared most of its early gains and ended almost flat against dollar on Thursday, due to selling of the US currency by exporters and banks. Traders took some support with the BMI Research’s latest report predicting that the Indian economy is likely to grow at 7.3% in the current financial year (FY19) from 6.6% rate reported in the previous year (FY18) on account of robust activity from the construction, manufacturing, and services sectors. Besides, dollar losing sheen against some other currencies overseas also supported the local unit. However, the rupee pared most of the gains in final hours as some concerns remained among the investors with report stating that India has slipped by three spots to eleventh position in the FDI Confidence Index 2018 released by American global management consulting firm AT Kearney. India falls by three spots, reversing its two-year streak of rising in the rankings. On the global front, dollar pulled back from four-month highs against a currency basket on Thursday, as investors took profits following its recent run higher after the Federal Reserve did little to alter market expectations for further interest rate rises this year.
Finally, the rupee ended at 66.64, 1 paise stronger from its previous close of 66.65 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 66.64 and 66.52 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.60 and for Euro stood at 79.85 on May 3, 2018. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 60.79, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 90.60. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
