Indian rupee crisis: ‘Worst is not yet over’
Al JazeeraAnalysts partly attribute the fall of rupee to a global crisis and Trump’s ‘declaration of a trade war’. A strong US dollar and high oil prices, coupled with investors dumping emerging markets’ currencies and a record high current account deficit – a measurement of a country’s trade where the value of its imports exceeds the value of its exports – are proving a toxic mix for the rupee. Burgeoning oil import bills could put further downward pressure on the rupee and widen the country’s trade deficit – according to official figures, India’s imports last month stood at $45bn while exports were almost $28bn. On Friday, the rupee strengthened by 50 paisa to 71.68 against the dollar in early trade in the foreign exchange market, on the back of a government assurance that all steps would be taken to ensure the domestic currency does not depreciate to “unreasonable levels”. This month’s export figures are stronger than expectations.” According to the ruling party, the rupee was still performing better than some other currencies and the country had sufficient foreign exchange reserves.