Recouping yesterday’s steep losses, Indian rupee gained ground against dollar and ended higher on Tuesday, on persistent selling of the American currency by exporters. Sentiments turned optimistic with Finance Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that India will be able to restrict the fiscal deficit below the budgeted level of 3.3 per cent of GDP in 2018-19, which has hit 55% of the annual target in the first two months of the financial year. Traders also took some support with Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu’s statement that early data indicate that exports have registered a good performance in June despite volatility in global markets. Besides, the dollar losing muscle against other currencies overseas along with positive trend in equity markets too supported the rupee. On the global front, dollar moved lower against most major currencies on Tuesday, with its biggest rival - the euro -climbing as the risk of a major political crisis in Germany receded after Chancellor Angela Merkel struck a deal on immigration.
Finally, the rupee ended at 68.60, 19 paise stronger from its previous close of 68.79 on Monday. The currency touched a high and low of 68.96 and 68.56 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 68.69 and for Euro stood at 80.02 on July 3, 2018. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 61.91, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 90.34. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
