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Rupee stable against dollar on account of high forex: Arun Jaitley

The domestic currency shed Rs 1.20 in the last fortnight to end at 63.56 against the greenback

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on May 1 said rupee has remained stable against dollar in the past few months, compared with currencies of other emerging countries, mainly because of India's forex reserves. "One of the reasons (rupee is stable) with strengthening dollar in the last few months, is because our reserve have kept us in the game.

Most other currencies in the world whether its Brazil, Russia or most of the European currencies, have depleted substantially," he said at the Enforcement Day function organised by the Directorate of Enforcement. To a large extent, he said, the rupee is among the few currencies, which have struggled to keep pace with the dollar though there has been a slight depletion.

"One of the reasons is our foreign reserve is in order and our ability to have deterrent in the system against the unlawful flight of foreign currency," he said. India's foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 2.8 billion in the week to April 17 to USD 343.2 billion.

Gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 19.038 billion, while Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and India’s reserve position with the IMF increased marginally by USD 45.6 million to USD 4 billion and USD 14.8 million to USD 1.3 billion, respectively. The forex reserves had fallen by USD 2.593 billion in the week ended April 10, snapping a consecutive three-week rise.

The domestic currency shed Rs 1.20 in the last fortnight to end at 63.56 against the greenback, making it the third consecutive week of a drop. Yesterday, rupee depreciated by 12 paise at 63.42 against the US currency due to month-end dollar demand from importers and fall in stocks markets.

( Source : PTI )
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