Rupee weakens on sustained demand for American currency from importers

Indian rupee weakened against the dollar on Thursday due to sustained demand for the American currency from importers. Rupee fell further on dollar’s renewed strength against other currencies overseas after a preliminary survey showed key US services expanded in October, which reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will lift rates before the end of the year. Furthermore, lower opening in domestic stocks also weighed on rupee. On the global front, the dollar held steady near a three-month high against the yen on Thursday, as rise in US bond yields and expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year helped underpin the greenback.

The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 66.89, weaker by 6 paise from its previous close of 66.83 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 66.93 and 66.8750 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.76 and for Euro stood at 72.81 on October 26, 2016. While the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 64.13, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 81.36.The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.