Rupee
Appreciation: what does strengthen it?
Anuj Chaudhary
The current rupee
appreciation, from Rs. 68 per dollar to Rs. 64.50 after the bi-monthly review of
Reserve Bank of India, now it has surged one and half year high. In 2013, at
this time, the rupee fell almost 12 per cent in few weeks. So it is to make
sure that the current gain has been less in term of percentage but this sharp
change is also triggered because of portfolio investment inflow. On the other
hand, Federal Reserve Bank has raised its interest rate to 2 per cent.
But, portfolio
investment does not have any long-term impact on rupee appreciation but these IPIs
will help to attract more investments in the first quarter FY17-18. Any aggressive buying of dollars by the RBI at
this scenario will only add to the excess liquidity that is already so evident
in the money market. Informal estimates suggest that the excess liquidity right
now is somewhere to the tune of Rs3 trillion. Spending by the government in the
new fiscal year that starts in April will also lead to a further injection of
liquidity into the financial system.
It is thus likely that the Indian central bank has stayed away
from foreign exchange intervention because it does not want to further
exacerbate the excess liquidity problem, because it will have to release rupees
into the market whenever it buys dollars. Sterilization firepower is limited
right now, which is precisely why it had to issue market stabilization bonds in
the first place.
The RBI will also have to take into account the fact that loose
money market conditions could eventually feed into inflation. Getting the
balance right is important. As RBI has kept interest rate unchanged i.e. Repo
Rate 6.25% whereas, RBI has slightly adjusted Reverse Repo Rate from 5.75 to 6 per
cent or by 25 basis points to tackle excess liquidity and inflationary factors.
This market stability is going to generate more investments but if Rupee
valuation continues then it will hurt Indian export for sure.
At this juncture, India needs more long-term foreign investment in
collaboration with domestic firms that will bring some liability and
credibility in the market.
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