Skip to main content

Rupee plunges below 68 for first time since Jan ’17

Image
By
Rupee plunges below 68 for first time since Jan ’17
The rupee breached the 68 level against the US dollar for the first time since January 2017 due to the political uncertainty following the Karnataka state elections. The domestic currency, which had closed at 67.52 on Monday, weakened to 67.75 in early trade and gained to 67.56. However, news of a fractured poll verdict led to the currency weakening to 68.11 at close.
According to Centrum Direct senior VP and treasury head M Hariprasad, the currency has weakened during the peak season for international travel. Also, those pursuing overseas education make their forex purchases in mid-June and would end up paying more for the same amount of dollars.
While the RBI has been consistently intervening in the market by selling dollars, dealers said that the central bank did not appear to be trying to reverse the direction of the domestic currency and the intervention was more aimed at curbing volatility. The rupee has been the worst performer in Asia in 2018. Given the dependence on oil imports, the weakening rupee will have an inflationary impact. 
The Times of India, New Delhi, 16th May 2018

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shrinking footprints of foreign banks in India

By
Shrinking footprints of foreign banks in India Foreign banks are increasingly shrinking their presence in India and are also becoming more conservative than private and public sector counterparts. While many of them have sold some of their businesses in India as part of their global strategy, some are trying to keep their core expertise intact. Others are branching out to newer areas to continue business momentum.For example, HSBC and Barclays Bank in India have got out of the retail business, whereas corporate-focused Standard Chartered Bank is now trying to increase its focus on retail “Building a retail franchise is a huge exercise and takes a long time. You cannot afford to lose it,” said Shashank Joshi, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ’s India head.According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, foreign banks’ combined loan book shrunk nearly 10 per cent from Rs 3.78 trillion in fiscal 2015-16 to Rs 3.42 trillion last financial year. The banking industry, which includes foreign banks…
Post a Comment
Read more

New money laundering norms stump jewellery sector

By
New money laundering norms stump jewellery sector Dealers with turnover of Rs 2 crore and above covered; industry says threshold too low The central government has notified the money laundering rules for the gems and jewellery sector with immediate effect. Now, any entity deals in precious metals, precious stones, or other high-value goods and has a turnover of Rs 2 crore or more in a financial year will be covered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA, 2002). The limit of Rs 2 crore would be calculated on the basis of the previous year’s turnover, said the notification. The directorate general of goods and service tax intelligence has been appointed under the Act. Sources said the government’s move to apply the PMLA to the jewellery sector was a fallout of income-tax raids on jewellers soon after demonetisation last November, when it was found that they sold gold and jewellery at a huge premium and accepted old currency notes as payment. The notification, issued on Augus…
Post a Comment
Read more

Confusion over branded food GST

By
Confusion over branded food GST The GST Council's statement over the weekend on applying tax on branded food items has left most of the trade confused.

Even though the Council has not changed the rates on food -0 per cent on unbranded stuff and 5 per cent on brands -many small traders who didn't levy GST earlier said they could come under the 5 per cent slab after the clarification.

While they predicted some increase in consumer prices, large players said they can absorb GST in many ways and keep prices steady.

"Trade is confused and hence on behalf of our chamber, we have asked our members to go ahead and charge 5 per cent GST," said Sushil Sureka, general secretary of the Ahilya Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Indore.

The statement clarifying the application of GST came after some businesses were found deregistering their brands and selling under corporate brand name without paying tax, after the Council exempted unbranded food from the new all-encompassing indirec…
Post a Comment
Read more