Sinha concerned over decline in rupee value

NEW DELHI, JUNE 16. The Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, has expressed concern over depreciation of the rupee against the dollar and said, ``If the situation persists, there may be cause for concern.''

``I am not worried as such about what is happening in the forex market as a temporary basis. What worries me is the long-term trend,'' he told BBC World.

The rupee, which lost 2.7 per cent of its value in 1999-2000, has depreciated 2.5 per cent within the first few months of the current fiscal. It started falling from Rs. 43.67 a dollar on May 9 to Rs. 44.95 a dollar on June 8 but recovered to close at Rs. 44.69 on June 15.

Predicting a six plus economic growth rate in 2000-01, Mr. Sinha expressed optimism about hitting the seven per cent level.

The higher inflation was the result of the revision in administered prices because money supply was lower than in the last year. Apart from the fact that the Government would be borrowing a larger amount from the market, there was nothing else which should lead to a higher interest rate, he said, according to a BBC Worldwide release.

- PTI

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