Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained its growth outlook for the economy. The RBI projected a gross domestic product (GDP) expansion rate of 7.4 percent in 2018-19 on the back of robust macroeconomic environment. Further, increased selling of the American currency by exporters and banks even after the RBI hiked repo rate by 25 basis points yesterday, too boosted the domestic unit. However, the dollar strengthened against some currencies overseas after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, capping the domestic unit's upward momentum.
The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 68.37, stronger by 6 paise from its previous close of 68.43 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 68.4250 and 68.2600 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 68.60 and for Euro stood at 80.11 on August 1, 2018. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 61.21, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 89.93. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
