Rupee opens lower at 66.18/$

On global macroeconomic front, IMF chief Christine Lagarde stated that global economic growth will be disappointing next year due to the probability of further hike in US interest rates and economic slowdown in China.

Indian rupee opened at 66.18/$ lower by 3 paise in early trade on Friday as against the previous close of 66.15/$. Yesterday, Indian rupee extended the recovery against the greenback, helped by reports that Qatar government has agreed to reduce gas prices for India. This will further help in mitigating India’s current account deficit. Indian rupee closed at 66.15 levels, a six week high. However on YTD’15 basis, the domestic unit was down by 4.7%. Meanwhile, there is some pressure on Indian rupee on account of month end dollar demand for US dollar from the importers.

On global macroeconomic front, IMF chief Christine Lagarde stated that global economic growth will be disappointing next year due to the probability of further hike in US interest rates and economic slowdown in China. She also expressed concerns over slowdown in global trade growth and persistent decline in commodity prices which has aggravated problems for commodity export oriented economies. Stronger US dollar has also led to problems for companies with dollar denominated debt in emerging markets. Lagarde echoed the need for loose monetary conditions to remain intact.

On Thursday, Indian rupee ended at 66.15/$, higher by 24 paise. The currency touched a high and low of 66.35 and 66.72 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.32 and for Euro stood at 72.50 on December 31, 2015. While, the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 55.09, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 98.3482.