The rupee settled at 68.42 against 68.4950 at the previous close. The local unit moved in 68.39-68.7675 per dollar band intra-day.
Dollar/rupee fell to three-month low during afternoon trade Friday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is thinking of raising part of its fiscal borrowing in foreign currency. India's external debt is currently low and the government will now start to borrow a part of its funding requirement from the overseas market in foreign currency. The country also hold record high forex reserves of $426 billion as on Jun 21, data from RBI website showed. The currency pair closed at Rs 68.469/$1 on Thursday.
Global Currency
The euro edged lower on Friday and is on track for its biggest weekly drop in three weeks as a slide in core government bond yields ramped up pressure for fresh stimulus policies from global central banks. But despite the relentless drop in yields, the single currency has been relatively well supported at around $1.12, a level it has traded above since early June and 1.5% above a 2019.
The single currency EUR=EBS edged 0.1% lower at $1.1273 and is on track for a weekly loss of 0.8% versus the dollar, its biggest weekly loss since mid-June. Expectations of big U.S. rate cuts will not be shaken by jobs data due later, with economists polled by Reuters predicting U.S. non-farm payrolls to have increased by 160,000 in June from 75,000 in May.
Global Markets
U.S. benchmark crude prices fell on weak economic indicators on Friday while Brent oil ticked higher, supported by tensions over Iran and this week's decision by OPEC and its allies to extend a supply cut deal until next year.
Gold prices edged lower on Friday as the dollar gained before the release of U.S. jobs data, which could offer guidance on the U.S. Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decisions. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,414.15 per ounce.
