Snapping its four-day winning streak, Indian rupee ended weaker against dollar on Monday as demand for the American unit from importers and banks picked up. Sentiments turned pessimistic with a private survey showing that India's services sector expanded at its slowest pace in seven months in April as some businesses postponed decisions and expansion plans until seeing results of the general election currently under way. The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index slipped to 51.0 in April, the lowest since September, down from 52.0 the previous month. Strength in dollar against major rival currencies, foreign fund outflows and heavy selling in domestic equities also kept pressure on the Indian rupee. However, easing crude prices helped in restricting the slide in the Indian unit to some extent. On the global front, safe-haven yen climbed on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on China, sending stocks and commodities into a tailspin.
Finally, the rupee ended at 69.40, 18 paise weaker from its previous close of 69.22 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 69.46 and 69.32 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 69.35 and for Euro stood at 77.63 on May 6, 2019. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 62.62, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 90.99.
