Rupee at 55/dollar "would be too strong": Rajan

Will hurt exports at that levels, says the RBI governor

Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said the rupee at 55 to the dollar would be too strong, the Mint newspaper reported on Thursday, a day after the rupee touched an eight-month high.

"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," Rajan said in an interview.

On Wednesday, Rajan had said the rupee strengthening to 45 or 50 per dollar could hit exports, in an interview to CNBC-TV18, and added saying 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.

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