Snapping 2-day winning streak, Indian rupee ended considerably weaker against the American currency on Friday, due to demand for greenback by banks and importers. Sentiments turned pessimistic with a private report stating that Reserve Bank of India is likely to keep policy rates unchanged in the forthcoming monetary policy review, but will have a hawkish tone on concerns over inflation and as crude oil prices remain elevated. Investors paid no heed towards UN’s report that India’s economy is projected to grow 7.6% in fiscal year 2018-19, remaining the fastest growing economy in the world, as robust private consumption and benefits from past reforms help the country’s GDP gain momentum but sustained recovery in private investment remains a crucial challenge. The fall in the rupee was also triggered by dollar’s strength against major global currencies overseas along with extremely bearish local equity markets. On the global front, US dollar traded higher against most other major currencies as Treasury yields rose sharply in recent days after solid economic data.
Finally, the rupee ended at 68.00, 32 paise weaker from its previous close of 67.68 on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 68.07 and 67.76 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 67.95 and for Euro stood at 80.27 on May 18, 2018. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 61.31, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 91.87. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
