Indian rupee ended considerably weaker against the US dollar on Thursday, on fresh bouts of dollar demand from importers. Also, heavy selling in domestic equities and rising crude oil prices kept pressure on the Indian rupee. Investors remain concerned with a private report that unemployment in India has shot up to a 3-year high of 8.3 per cent, as on August 20. With the urban unemployment rate close to 10%, job seekers in the urban areas are suffering more than those in the rural areas. On the global front, Japanese yen rose on Thursday as risk appetite weakened, as investors looking to U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole on Friday.
Finally, the rupee ended at 71.81, 26 paise weaker from its previous close of 71.55 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 71.97 and 71.63 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 71.55 and for Euro stood at 79.39 on August 21, 2019. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 67.20, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 86.89.
