Indian rupee ended marginally lower against US dollar on Monday, due to fresh demand for the American currency from banks and importers. Traders remained cautious with Assocham president Niranjan Hiranandani’s statement that the economy is facing a liquidity problem and demand recession, and it requires measures to lift consumption, including reduction in goods and services tax and personal income tax and improved credit flow, to revive. Some anxiety also came with International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Gita Gopinath’s statement that while it was anticipated that India’s growth will slow down, the current numbers come as a shocker with a sharp decline in both investment and consumption. Besides, lackluster trade in local equity markets weighed on the rupee. On the global front, dollar stood near two-week highs on Monday after the release of decent U.S. economic data late last week, while sterling’s brief recovery hit the buffers.
Finally, the rupee ended at 71.18, 6 paise weaker from its previous close of 71.12 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 71.24 and 71.11 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 71.15 and for Euro stood at 79.10 on December 20, 2019. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 65.09, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 92.61.
