Indian rupee depreciated for second straight session against the US dollar on Thursday, following a spike in crude oil prices amid buying in the American currency by banks and importers. Investor sentiments remained fragile with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das’ statement that the coronavirus outbreak will have a limited impact on India but the global GDP and trade will definitely get affected due to the large size of the Chinese economy. He added that only a couple of sectors in India are likely to see some disruptions but alternatives are being explored to overcome those issues. Investors also remained on sidelines and awaited more clarity on U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement ahead of his visit to India that the two countries were working on a major trade deal. Lackluster trade in local equity markets along with dollar’s strength against major global currencies overseas also affected the rupee. On the global front, Sterling slipped for the fourth straight day against the dollar on Thursday as the U.S. currency's broad-based strength and jitters over the start of Britain's trade talks with the EU offset data showing a strong rebound in UK retail sales.
The last traded price of rupee was 71.64, 10 paise weaker from its previous close of 71.54 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 71.80 and 71.53 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 71.40 and for Euro stood at 77.36 on February 18, 2020. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 65.04, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 92.81.
