BY SACHIN KUMAR
DOHA: The Indian rupee has again started depreciating against the Qatari riyal after strengthening a little at the start of the year. The rupee has fallen around 40 paise in the last two months due to a strengthening dollar. The rupee closed at 17.39 per riyal yesterday, down from 16.98 per riyal at the start of March this year. The rupee was trading at 17.45 per Qatari riyal at the start of this year.
Other Asian currencies have either depreciated slightly or remained stable in the last four months. The Pakistani rupee is trading at 27.91 per riyal, down from 27.62 a riyal at the start of the year. The Nepali rupee closed yesterday at 27.84 per riyal, slightly stronger than 27.92 in January this year. The Bangladeshi Taka closed yesterday at 21.37 per riyal, stronger than its level of 21.60 per riyal at the start of this year.
“The Indian rupee remained flat against the US dollar in the first few months of this year, but with respect to other currencies it has relatively outperformed. When other currencies were falling in the first two months of this year, it did not fall much. Now the rupee is following other currencies by showing weakness against the dollar,” said a senior official of a currency exchange.
“The rupee is likely to weaken further in coming months against the dollar. The Federal Reserve — the central bank of the United States — is likely to raise its interest rates in the second half of this year. This hike in rates will make the American currency stronger as global investors will invest money in US bonds to get higher returns. The Indian rupee, like other global currencies, is likely to weaken due to the dollar’s rise,” said Zuber Abdul Rahman, Operations Manager at Al Zaman Exchange.
The rupee is following other major currencies, which are depreciating against the dollar. Buoyed by signs of recovery in the US economy, the Federal Reserve has stopped the bond buying programme known as Quantitative Easing. Interest rates in the world’s largest economy are expected to rise in coming months, leading to a strengthening of the dollar.
THE PENINSULA
