Indian rupee ended marginally higher against dollar on Wednesday, on persistent selling of the American currency by exporters. Some support came as Union Minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari has highlighted that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is backbone of Indian economy and said the government's aim is to increase the sector's contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 50 per cent from the existing 30 per cent. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India would not worry about missing its budget deficit target as it seeks to step up spending to support the economy. She mentioned the stimulus spending will not be wound down in a hurry. She added the government and the central bank together have done a good balancing act. The rupee also derived its strength from strong gains in the local equity markets as well as dollar’s weakness against some currencies overseas. On the global front; dollar fell broadly against its peers on Wednesday, snapping a three-day rising streak, as signs of progress in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic boosted risk appetite with the Chinese yuan climbing to its highest level in 2-1/2 years.
Finally, the rupee ended at 73.57, 3 paise stronger from its previous close of 73.60 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 73.61 and 73.49 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 73.76, and for Euro stood 89.40 on December 08, 2020. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 70.89, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 98.57.
