MbS made the remarks at an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council, which he gave on behalf of his father, King Salman
mena9 hours ago
The rupee is down about nine per cent since the start of March and suffered steep falls in the last three sessions before recovering its daily losses on Friday. The Reserve Bank of India is believed to have stepped into the market to defend the currency on Wednesday and Thursday, and possibly Friday, traders said.
However, with limited reserves and India’s negative balance of payments, the RBI has little firepower to defend the rupee. Encouraging dollar inflows would lend support to the currency.
The rupee lost 2.3 per cent this week, closing at 53.47/48 to the dollar, putting it close to the record 54.30 plumbed in December. Traders blame the drop on worry about India’s current account and fiscal deficits as well as new tax proposals.
“These measures will aid from the sentiment perspective, but a structural solution will be addressing the fiscal deficit, current account deficit and growth,” said Hitendra Dave, global markets head at HSBC in Mumbai.
The RBI relaxed the interest rate ceiling on foreign currency non-resident (FCNR) deposits of banks with maturities of one year to less than three years to 200 basis points above the LIBOR or swap rate, from 125 basis points now. On three to five-year maturity FCNR deposits, the rate ceiling will be relaxed to 300 basis points above LIBOR.
The central bank also allowed banks to freely determine the interest rates on export credit in foreign currency.
“Maybe some foreign fund inflows will be augmented because of this step, but I don’t think it is enough to stop the downward fall of the rupee,” said Ashtosh Raina, head of foreign currency trading at HDFC Bank.
MbS made the remarks at an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council, which he gave on behalf of his father, King Salman
mena9 hours ago
His visit to Cairo aimed to salvage stalled negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to end the conflict
world9 hours ago
The group accused Israel, which has so far refused to comment, as US denies involvement
mena9 hours ago
Hundreds of pagers belonging to the armed group exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday, killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded up to 2,800 others
world9 hours ago
They view it as a pivotal move toward fostering inclusivity and diversity in corporate structures
uae9 hours ago
Israel has not yet commented on the explosions
europe9 hours ago
The meeting saw engaging discussions on Sinomach’s strategic initiatives and ongoing projects in the region
economy10 hours ago