Indian rupee weakened marginally against US dollar on Friday, followed by dollar buying by importers and banks. Further, rising crude prices too weighed on the rupee sentiment. Moreover, the domestic unit came under pressure after official data showed that the growth of core industries plummeted in September. Output of eight core infrastructure industries contracted by 5.2 percent in September, the lowest in the decade, indicating severity of economic slowdown. The eight core sectors had expanded by 4.3 percent in September 2018, and 0.1 percent in August 2019. However, weak dollar against major currencies overseas, and persistent foreign fund inflows supported the domestic unit and restricted its fall. Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,870.87 crore on Thursday, exchange data showed. On the global front, the dollar held near a three-week low versus the yen ahead of US employment report expected to show a slowdown in job creation, highlighting concerns about the health of the world's largest economy. The US currency also nursed losses against the euro and the pound on reports that Chinese officials have doubts about reaching a comprehensive long-term solution to the US-Sino trade war.
The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 70.94, weaker by 2 paise from its previous close of 70.92 on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 70.9875 and 70.8700 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 70.99 and for Euro stood at 78.89 on October 30, 2019. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 65.23, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 91.35.
