Arun Jaitley: Rupee fall due to global reasons, no need for ‘panic and knee-jerk reactions’

Citing the reasons behind the unprecedented fall of the rupee against the dollar as global, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Wednesday said that there was no need for “panic and knee-jerk reactions”. He was reacting on the decline if rupee by further 17 paise against the US dollar to close at 71.75 today. This was the sixth consecutive session with the rupee settling lower against the greenback.

making his clarification, he said, as reported by the NDTV, “There are no domestic reasons… Reasons are global. In the last few months, the dollar has strengthened against every currency.” According to the Union Minister the rupee ‘has either consistently strengthened or remained in a range and not weakened’.

He was of the opinion that ‘rupee is better off’ in comparison to the most of the other currencies of the world, compared to what it was 4-5 years ago. He also supported the Reserve bank of India’s move to sell dollars at 71.80 rupees per dollar in the local spot forex market to stem a sharp fall in the Indian currency, as Reuters pointed out. He said, “RBI is certainly doing whatever is necessary. I don’t think there is any need for the world’s fastest-growing economy to come out with panic and knee-jerk reaction.”

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