The Indian rupee fell for the seventh consecutive session on sustained dollar demand from importers, foreign fund outflows and on the back of dollar's strength overseas. The dollar is expected to hold stronger going forward as New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley on Thursday said the US economy could be strong enough to warrant a rate increase in June or July. On the global front, Sterling bucked the trend amid the weakness in various currencies, underpinned by unexpected rise in British consumer spending. In this respect, April retail sales grew 1.3% on mom basis, more than double the expectations of a 0.6% rise. British Pound is also deriving cues from the shift in sentiment towards the ‘remain’ vote for the June 23rd referendum. Brexit seems unlikely; given that majority of Britons acknowledge the economic repercussions associated with it. Sanity has to prevail, as Britain cannot afford slowdown in trade and investments. On Friday, the Indian currency ended lower by 8 paise at 67.37/$. The local unit had hit a high of 67.40 and a low of 67.59. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.40 and for Euro stood at 75.54. The RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 61.17; reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 98.4555.

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