Indian rupee drops further to 20.32/Dh and faces more pressure with US Fed rate hike on June 15

Indian rupee drops further to 20.32/Dh and faces more pressure with US Fed rate hike on June 15

Dubai: An already weakened Indian rupee started the week with more pressure piling up, at 20.29 to the dirham early on Monday. From here, it could turn even more volatile with the US Federal Reserve set to announce its next rate hike on June 15-16. Will this see the rupee fast-tracking its way to 22 to the dirham? FX analysts and treasury officials are still uncertain about the speed at which this could happen. “Touching 22 is a certainty, the only question is when,” said one. “I would like to think further drops will be gradual than a sudden rush. “The rupee’s decline will stick to the 1-1.5 per cent annual dips it has been seeing in recent years. That’s a range India’s policymakers will be comfortable with.” On the remittance side, each dip represents an opportunity for Indian expats in the UAE. It was May 9 that the rupee breached the 21 level for the first time and has been caught in that range since. At various moments over the last 30 days it was felt that the country’s central bank would intervene and nudge the rupee back to the ‘comfort’ of around 20.50/20.60 to the dirham. That did