BLBG:UBS’s Wyatt Says Rupee Will Reach 40 Against Dollar Next Year
Philip Wyatt, a senior economist at UBS AG in Hong Kong, comments on the outlook for India’s rupee. He predicts the currency will strengthen to 43 against the dollar by the end of this year and to 40 by the end of 2012.
Three-month non-deliverable forwards for the rupee gained 0.1 percent to 45.01 per dollar as of 1:13 p.m. in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The contracts reflect bets the rupee will decline 1.2 percent from the spot rate of 44.4650.
“In the longer term we are positive on the rupee but the roadblocks in the short term include the soft patch in global growth, how long it takes for Indian inflation to cool and whether the market perceives the central bank has done enough to tame inflation.
“Big global factors are more important for the rupee in the short term as we believe the moves by the Reserve Bank of India to tighten monetary policy are coming to an end.”
To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Jeanette Rodrigues in Mumbai at Jrodrigues26@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net