Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar on Friday as the government had on Wednesday assured that all steps would be taken to ensure that the domestic currency does not depreciate to unreasonable levels. Besides, dollar selling by exporters and banks and the greenback’s weakness against other currencies overseas too helped the rupee sentiment. Furthermore, strong equity market and positive macro data released on Wednesday also supported the rupee’s recovery. According to the data released by Central Statistics Office, industrial production grew to 6.6 percent in July and retail inflation cooled to a 10-month low of 3.69 percent in August. The forex market was closed Thursday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi. On the global front, the dollar dipped after weaker-than-expected US inflation data, with the currency already sagging on signs of reduced trade tensions between the United States and China.
The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 71.79, stronger by 39 paise from its previous close of 72.18 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 72.69 and 71.68 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 72.75 and for Euro stood at 84.32 on September 12, 2018. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 65.22, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 94.62. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
