Rupee to remain at 68-70 level: Economic Affairs Secretary
New Delhi, Aug 29 : On a day when the Indian rupee plunged to a record low of 70.65 to a US dollar, the government on Wednesday said it was expected to remain in the range of 68 to 70 during the year.
Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg told the media that the depreciation in the rupee was due to some small mismatch in the demand and supply, which may go either way depending on the view taken by the operators.
He said while foreign portfolio investors took some USD nine billion from the country during the first three months of the current fiscal, net flow was at an equilibrium in July.
"This month there has been so far a positive inflow of over one billion dollars. That suggests the sentimental change about the view on rupee (and) that the current levels are fairly stable," Garg said.
"Therefore, that gives me some confidence that where we are today, there may not be much variation. So I retain the same view that between 68 to 70 is the level where the rupee would mostly remain.
"Considering fundamental supply of dollars and the demand, it should be fair to assume that that might be the level on which it will stay during the year," he added.
Earlier, after hitting an all-time low 70.65 per dollar, the rupee settled at 70.59 per dollar, depreciating by 49 paise from its previous close of 70.10 per dollar.
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India-bound LPG tanker clears Hormuz
New Delhi (PTI): A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for India has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards the country, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier MT Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 tonnes of LPG and staffed by 20 crew, including 18 Indians, cleared the key shipping chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said.
The cargo -- enough to meet half a days requirement of the country -- will partly tide over supply constraints being faced since the start of the West Asia conflict more than two months back.
Ship-tracking data showed its position in Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.
The very large gas carrier has previously made runs between the Persian Gulf and Indian ports, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to cross the war zone since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing transits through Hormuz back down to almost zero.
There are as many as 14 Indian flagged or India-owned vessels still stranded on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and uninterrupted operations.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) control room has handled 8,373 calls and more than 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the last 24 hours.
India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the past day from across the Gulf region.
Port operations across the country remain normal with no congestion reported, the statement added.
