Thaindian News

New Delhi, June 5 (IANS) The Indian rupee, which hit a record low of 56.52 against the dollar last week, is likely to stabilise soon at around the current range, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said Tuesday.

“This is a transition phase. The rupee will stabilise soon at around the current level,” Sharma told reporters after announcing the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14 here.

Sharma said volatility in rupee was a matter of concern as it had adversely impacted India’s economic growth and foreign trade. He said: “It has adverse impact on the economy.”

The Indian currency hit a record low of 56.52 against the dollar at the end of last month. The partially convertible rupee has been trading in the range of 55-56 this week.

Rupee hit a low of 55.91 against the dollar Tuesday, after witnessing some strengthening the previous day.

Sharma said the government was working closely with the Reserve Bank of India to bring stability to the currency.

The minister said he had taken into account the rupee depreciation while formulating the annual supplement to the foreign trade policy.

“The weakening of the rupee will have its own implication on our annual import bill. Clearly Indian economy is passing through a difficult phase,” Sharma said earlier.

He said volatility in commodity prices, especially crude oil, was adding pressure to India’s import bill.

“The difficult economic situation in the Eurozone crisis poses a real risk of destabilizing the fragile recovery and sinking the world into yet another recession,” he said.