Rupee closes lower against US dollar
1 min read . Updated: 08 Jan 2018, 05:05 PM IST
PremiumThe rupee ended at 63.50 a dollar, down 0.20% from its Friday's close of 63.37
Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Monday erased all the morning gains and closed weaker against US dollar tracking losses in the Asian currencies market.
The home currency ended at 63.50 a dollar, down 0.20% from its Friday’s close of 63.37. In the morning trade, the rupee opened at 63.32 a dollar and hit a fresh 32-month high of 63.25, a level last seen on 29 April 2015.
The benchmark Sensex rose 0.58%, or 198.94 points, to 34,352.79. The local equity markets rose for a third session and advanced over 1.5% or 500 points. So far in 2018, it gained nearly 0.3%.
On Friday, the government forecast economic growth slowing to 6.5% in the year to 31 March from 7.1% in the previous year. The forecast released by the Central Statistics Office assumes that the economy is on a recovery path. The economy grew at 6% in the six months ended 30 September, indicating that it will accelerate to 7% in the second half ending 31 March, if the forecast is to come true.
In the year 2017, the rupee gained 6.35% and Sensex rose 28%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $7.73 billion and $23.27 billion in equity and debt, respectively.
The 10-year bond yield was at 7.315% compared to its previous close of 7.288%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Asian currencies were trading lower. Philippines peso was down 0.61%, Singapore dollar 0.38%, South Korean won 0.32%, China Offshore 0.26%, China renminbi 0.15%, Taiwan dollar 0.14%, Indonesian rupiah 0.1%, Japanese yen 0.08%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 92.179, up 0.25% from its previous close of 91.949.
