Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar on Friday on account of fresh demand for the American currency from importers and banks amid foreign fund outflows. Further, Crude oil’s breach of the $80 per barrel-mark in global market and a lower opening of the domestic equity market too weighed on the rupee sentiment. On the global front, the dollar edged higher against the yen on Friday and set a fresh four-month high, buoyed by a further rise in US Treasury yields that suggests a more upbeat outlook for the world’s largest economy and possibly more rate hikes.
The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 67.98, weaker by 30 paise from its previous close of 67.68 on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 68.0300 and 67.7600 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 67.71 and for Euro stood at 79.89 on May 17, 2018. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 61.28, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 91.64. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
| Date | 1US$ | 1GBP |
| May 17, 2018 | 67.7156 | 91.6463 |
| May 16, 2018 | 67.8276 | 91.6826 |
(RBI-Reference Rate)
