Mumbai, India (BBN) – Rupee was trading weak at 68.25 on fresh dollar demand from importers despite a firm domestic equity market.
The domestic unit opened strong by 4 paisa at 68.16 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market today, reports the Hindu Business Line.
It hovered in a range of 68.27 and 68.12 before quoting at 68.25, down 5 paisa at 4.05 pm local time.
On Friday, the rupee had gained 14 paisa to close at 68.20 — the highest level in more than a week — on growing expectations that the Reserve Bank will lower key rates in its policy review scheduled for December 7.
Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE index Sensex ended higher by 118.44 points or 0.45 per cent at 26,349.10.
In the overseas market, sterling rose to its strongest in two months against the dollar on Monday, extending one of the currency world’s best performances over the past month as it rode out volatility around Italy’s constitutional referendum.
The pound inched up 0.1 per cent against the dollar to $1.2739 in morning deals in London, the strongest it has been since before a dramatic October 7 flash crash which briefly knocked around 10 per cent off its value.
The euro rebounded from 21-month lows on Monday, clawing back almost all the ground it had lost overnight after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi conceded defeat in a referendum on plans to reform the country’s constitution and said he would resign.
The single currency tumbled as much as 1.4 per cent in Asian trade to hit $1.0505, its weakest since March 2015, as investors worried about increased political uncertainty in the euro zone. But by 0855 GMT it had recovered almost all of those losses, trading down 0.1 per cent on the day at $1.0650.
BBN/MS/ANS