Rupee at 55 per dollar would be too strong: RBI chief

A day after the rupee touched an eight-month high of 59.62 per dollar, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan said in an interview to a newspaper the rupee at 55 to the dollar would be too strong.

 

"And today I would say that if we were at 55 (against the dollar), it would be too strong. In the summer of last year, I said 70 (against the dollar) would be too weak," Mr Rajan said.

 

In an interview to a news channel on Wednesday, he had said the rupee strengthening to 45 or 50 per dollar could hit exports. 

 

He had also said the RBI was fine with a "certain amount of leeway" in the currency.

 

The rupee has been supported by a powerful rally in domestic equities, which touched a record high for an eighth straight session on Wednesday on the back of strong foreign inflows.

 

As of 9:11 a.m., the rupee was trading at 59.89 per dollar, compared to Wednesday's close of 59.90/91.

 

Copyright @ Thomson Reuters 2013