Snapping two day falling streak, Indian rupee bounced back against the Greenback on Tuesday, on the back of fresh dollar selling by exporters and some banks. Traders took some support with ICRA’s report stating that the GDP growth rate is expected to improve to 7.4% in Q4 FY2018 from 7.2% in Q3 FY2018, exceeding the implicit forecast of 7.1% embedded in the CSO’s Second Advance Estimate of National Income for 2017-18. Besides, dollar losing sheen against some other currencies overseas also supported the local unit. However, gains were limited as some concerns came with SBI’s Ecowrap report stating that India’s current account deficit is expected to widen to 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the financial year 2018-19, on the back of rise in the crude oil prices. On the global front, dollar pulled back from a five-month high against major rivals on Tuesday, as traders opted to take profits after the recent rally, while Forex traders focused on testimony to the UK Treasury Select Committee.
Finally, the rupee ended at 68.04, 8 paise stronger from its previous close of 68.12 on Monday. The currency touched a high and low of 68.09 and 67.93 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 68.01 and for Euro stood at 80.07 on May 22, 2018. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 61.25, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 91.24. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
