Rupee weakens on month end demand for US dollar from the importers and banks

Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday on month end demand for US dollar from the importers and banks. Besides, a lower opening in the domestic equity market too added downward pressure on the Indian rupee. Meanwhile, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged, as expected, and said it was closely monitoring global economic and financial developments. On the global front, the US dollar turned mixed on Thursday after the Federal Reserve offered little in the way of surprises, in contrast to New Zealand's central bank which flung open the doors to a cut in rates and clipped the kiwi in the process.

The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 68.09, weaker by 4 paise from its previous close of 68.05 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 68.19 and 68.07 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 67.98 and for Euro stood at 73.81 on January 27, 2016. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 57.45, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 97.5109. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.   

(RBI-Reference Rate)