Snapping its two-day gaining streak, Indian rupee weakened considerably against the US currency on Friday, on account of fresh dollar demand from banks and importers. Sentiments turned pessimistic with the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) report that India's GDP is likely to range between a decline of 0.9% and a growth of 1.5% in the current financial year, with the economy undergoing a turbulent phase caused by the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Market participants were concerned that the sharp rise in coronavirus cases could weigh on the global as well as domestic economy. Weak trend in domestic stock markets along with firm dollar in the overseas market were also a reason behind fall in the rupee. On the global front, dollar was headed for its best week since early April on Friday as tumbling oil prices weighed on commodity currencies and division over Europe's emergency fund dragged on the euro.
Finally, the rupee ended at 76.46, 40 paise weaker from its previous close of 76.06 on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 76.47 and 76.16 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 76.06 and for Euro stood at 82.31 on April 23, 2020. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 70.55, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 93.98.
