Snapping two days of winning streak, Indian rupee ended considerably weaker against the American currency on Monday, owing to increased demand for the American currency from importers amid increasing global crude oil prices. Sentiments turned pessimistic with former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan’s statement that demonetisation and the GST are the two major headwinds that held back India’s economic growth last year, asserting that the current 7% growth rate is not enough to meet the country’s needs. Cautiousness also prevailed ahead of key economic data -- September IIP and October CPI, which will be announced after the market hours. Besides, the dollar's strength against some currencies overseas and heavy losses in domestic equity markets also weighed on the domestic unit. On the global front, dollar surged to nearly 17-month highs on Monday against a basket of major currencies as investors sought out the liquid and high-yielding currency against a backdrop of global growth worry and rising political risk in Italy and Britain.
Finally, the rupee ended at 72.89, 39 paise weaker from its previous close of 72.50 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 73.07 and 72.74 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 72.90 and for Euro stood at 82.43 on November 12, 2018. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 63.91, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 93.99. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.
