INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Continued strength in the greenback along with current account deficit-related concerns fuelled by rising crude oil prices kept the rupee
under pressure, say analysts
The rupee dipped below the 72 level against the American currency for the first time during Thursday's session, before settling at 71.99
Further weakness in the rupee came a day after the government attributed the plunge to global factors.The government has attributed the
"We are not in a trade war business but when countries neighbouring us devalue their currenciesthat has a corresponding impact on us
Turkey had some impact on us," he had said."Statements indicate that the government is comfortable with a gradual depreciation and we can
expect some intervention which will only stem a sudden fall but not a reversal," said Salil Datar, CEO and executive director, Essel Finance
VKC Forex.Analysts say that crude imports are fuelling worries on the current account deficit front amid mild intervention from the central
bank."Rupee's current weakening is more reflective of the impact the rising oil prices will have on our fiscal deficit due to our CAD
forward.Domestic fuel prices are at record highs in many cities thanks to strength in international crude oil prices
record low as there is lot of speculative dollar demand in the market
The RBI is not intervening aggressively that has kept sentiment bearish for the rupee
Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.The RBI intervenes anonymously in the forex market through banks, and publishes its forex reserves
numbers with a time lag of a week
Typically traders can only estimate the intervention number from the weekly data.The rupee is down more than 12 per cent year-to-date
Concerns over the trade deficit and inflation, due to high oil and commodity prices, have prompted several foreign investors to exit long
positions in the rupee, making it Asia's worst performing currency this year.The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six
major peers, slipped 0.1 per cent on Thursday after shedding nearly 0.3 per cent overnight
to financial crises in the likes of Turkey, South Africa and Venezuela.Meanwhile, the US dollar, which has had its best yearly performance
since 2015 so far in 2018, will hold on to those gains for the rest of the year but beyond that is unlikely to maintain its ascendancy,
according to a poll by news agency Reuters.Analysts will watch a US employment report due on Friday for further direction.(With agency
