Friday, January 12, 2018

Rupee is stronger as Dollar is weaker

This blog post title is funny but it is what it is. When we look at the exchange rate of a currency we assume that the reference currency has remained the same. For example, Rupee was exchanged at 66 for a dollar few of weeks ago. Now you need only 63 rupees and some change to get the dollar. At first glance, one might interpret that Rupee is getting stronger and say kudos to Indian economy. But wait, think slow and you will realize that it is Dollar which is weakening against all other currencies. What made it so?

US Fed is raising interest rates, it was supposed to make the Dollar stronger but it did not. Thanks to President Trump. His policies does not promote international trade like his predecessors did. In that situation, the reason for other countries to hold US Dollar in their reserves diminishes. Whether it is political clash or trade disputes, China is not piling up US bonds as before and in fact it may have reduced its dollar reserves. That has increased the supply of dollars in the system and there are no big takers for it. So USD lost to the tune of 10% against Euro and other currencies.

Rupee is benefited too because of this development. Though our economic growth has reduced slightly, trade and fiscal deficits have not changed significantly. So Rupee rallied against USD and scored some points. RBI holds $400B as forex reserves and it is likely to slow down or stop buying the dollars. That will help the gains in Rupee sustain. In case RBI decides to sell some of its reserves (like China did), expect Rupee to trade below 60 a dollar. Good times are coming. Are not they?

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