Rupee strengthens against dollar in early deals on Thursday

Indian rupee strengthened against dollar in early deals on Thursday on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and banks. Besides, a higher opening in the domestic stock markets too supported the rupee. However, some gains were capped as most traders stayed cautious amid concerns of higher US interest rates and over the passage in Parliament of the goods and services tax (GST) bill. On the global front, the dollar struggled to take back some lost ground on Thursday after sharp losses from investors paring dollar-long positions, while the Australian dollar soared after an unexpected increase in jobs there caught investors by surprise. Currency markets globally are trading sideways, ahead of the much-anticipated policy review by the US Fed next week, where the US central bank is likely to announce a hike in interest rate for the first time in nearly seven years.

The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 66.80, stronger by 3 paise from its previous close of 66.83 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 66.85 and 66.7850 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.75 and for Euro stood at 72.89 on December 09, 2015. While, the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 54.40 the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 100.2919. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.

(RBI-Reference Rate)