Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was doing whatever necessary on the rupee, which continued its fall against the dollar, and there was no need for any “panic” or “knee-jerk reactions”.
“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 reactions,” he said at a media briefing.
“We must bear in mind that dollar has strengthened against almost every currency. The rupee has either consistently strengthened or remained in a range, not weakened.... compared to what it was four-five years ago, rupee is better off,” Jaitley said.
“If you look at the domestic economic situation and global situation, there are not domestic reasons attributable to this, but all reasons are global,” he added.
The Indian rupee’s unabated fall continued for the sixth straight session on Wednesday, hitting yet another closing low of 71.75, down 17 paise against the US currency as surging oil prices and weak trend in emerging market currencies weighed on sentiments.
Intra-day, the domestic unit plummeted to a historic low of 71.97 a dollar before finding some respite, staging some recovery towards the tail-end.
{{/usCountry}}Intra-day, the domestic unit plummeted to a historic low of 71.97 a dollar before finding some respite, staging some recovery towards the tail-end.
{{/usCountry}}However, the RBI swung into action to put a floor under the sliding currency and stave off a full-blown meltdown, reported PTI.