Snapping 2-day winning streak, Indian rupee ended considerably weaker against dollar on Thursday, as demand for the American unit from importers and banks picked up. Sentiments turned pessimistic with RBI Governor Urjit Patel flagging the risks to macroeconomic stability from a potential currency war in the wake of rising global trade tensions. Investors even overlooked a report that RBI has maintained its growth outlook for the economy, estimating the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow at 7.4% in 2018-19. It noted that GDP growth would range between 7.5-7.6% in H1 and 7.3-7.4% in H2. Besides, poor performance of the domestic equity market, too affected the rupee. On the global front, dollar rallied on Thursday as the Federal Reserve’s upbeat assessment of the economy combined with a flare-up in the trade tensions between the United States and China to boost demand for the U.S. currency.
Finally, the rupee ended at 68.71, 28 paise weaker from its previous close of 68.43 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 68.73 and 68.26 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 68.35 and for Euro stood at 79.57 on August 2, 2018. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 61.23, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 89.52. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
