Extending weakness for the second day, Indian rupee depreciated against dollar on Wednesday, on increased demand for the US currency from importers. Traders remain concerned with the government data showing that fiscal deficit touched 121.5 percent of the full-year revised target of Rs 6.34 lakh crore at the end of January on account of lower revenue collections. The fiscal deficit stood at Rs 7.70 lakh crore during April-January of the current financial year ending March. At the end of January 2018, the deficit was 113.7 percent of the Revised Estimate (RE). Rising global crude oil prices also impacted the rupee movement. On the global front, U.S. dollar was mixed against the other major currencies on Wednesday as the yen gained ground on the back of geopolitical tensions and the British pound pushed higher with investors expecting Brexit to be delayed.
Finally, the rupee ended at 71.24, 17 paise weaker from its previous close of 71.07 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 71.49 and 70.94 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 71.16 and for Euro stood at 80.96 on February 27, 2019. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 64.38, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 94.21.
