Currency traders split on which way India’s rupee will move next – The National

Currency traders split on which way India’s rupee will move next – The National

A 7.4% depreciation against the US dollar by April this year has been pared back as foreign investment has flowed in and the central bank has eased FX purchases

















The Indian rupee is set to recover in the coming months. Global funds have piled in $4.6 billion into Indian stocks this quarter. AFP 







The Indian rupee was Asia's worst performing currency in the first six months of this year, amid the global and domestic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.



Analysts now have mixed views on where the currency is headed next: some are predicting that it could dive to new record lows, while others believe that the worst is over for the battered currency.



A decline in the Indian rupee was to be expected "given the sharp pandemic-driven volatility in the global markets over the last six months“, says Suman Chowdhury, chief analytical officer at Acuité Ratings & Research, based in Mumbai.



"As typical in a crisis, investors moved their funds to safer asset classes, such as [the] US dollar or US treasury bills, from emerging market debt or equity.“



The rupee is trading at about 74.60 to