In the meantime, country's forex reserves rose by a

whopping USD 4.036 billion to life-time high of USD 379.310 billion in the week ended May 19.

In a major policy initiative the union cabinet on Wednesday scrapped the 25-year old foreign investment advisory body FIPB as it looks to attract more FDI by providing quick approvals under a single-window clearance system.

The RBI fixed the reference rate for the USD at Rs 64.5945 and Euro at Rs 72.3329 against preceding week's level of Rs 64.9906 and Rs 72.2955 respectively.

In cross-currency trade Indian unit displayed a mixed trend during the week.

The rupee bounced back sharply against the British pound, surging by a whopping 127 paise to end at 82.82 from last Friday's level of 84.09 per pound.

The pound took a big hit, tumbling to its lowest level in two weeks after a poll showed PM Theresa May's Conservatives' lead shrinking two weeks ahead of national elections on June 8.

However, the local currency softened further against the Japanese Yen to settle at 58.05 per 100 yens as compared to 58.03, while it finished virtually stable against the Euro at 72.21.

In the forward market, premium for dollar took a sharp slide following continued receivings from exporters.

The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in October dropped to 127-128 paise from 138.50-140.50 paise and the far-forward contract maturing in April 2018 also drifted to 274-275 paise from 290-292 paise last Friday.

In global commodity trade, crude prices collapsed - leading to the biggest daily plunge since the start of 2016 to end below the key psychological USD 50/barrel level after Saudi hinted that there is no need for deeper cuts.

Concerns also remained that OPEC-led production cuts will support a further rise in output from the United States, where producers can operate at much lower costs.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)