Rupee weakens against dollar in early deals on Thursday

Indian rupee weakened against dollar in early deals on Thursday, in line with the weakness seen across Asian markets, due to firmness in the US currency against a basket of major currencies after strong data released in the US overnight raised chances of a Fed liftoff in the forthcoming December policy review. Data released overnight showed that the US jobless claims fell more than expected last week. Claims have now held below the 300,000 for 38 consecutive weeks to the levels last seen in the early 1970s. The US preliminary (flash) Markit services index, on the other hand, improved to 56.5 in November against 54.8 in October, raising further chances of a Fed liftoff in December. Besides, a fresh demand for the US currency from importers and banks also weighed on the domestic currency. However, early gains in domestic stock markets capped the rupee losses to some extent. The domestic currency market was closed on Wednesday for a public holiday. On the global front, the euro remained shaky early on Thursday, having slid to its lowest in over seven months on the prospect of further policy stimulus from the European Central Bank (ECB).

The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 66.48, weaker by 16 paise from its previous close of 66.32 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 66.50 and 66.35 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.38 and for Euro stood at 70.55 on November 24, 2015. While, the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 54.10 the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 100.4523. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.

(RBI-Reference Rate)