Rupee loses more value to dollar

There was no change in the exchange rate trend and the rupee lost another 52 paise against the US dollar to close at Rs281.47 in the interbank market on Tuesday. It seems the market would remain calm and cool till the end of the negotiations with the IMF which would begin from Nov 2. Experts believe that the slow appreciation of the dollar would not hurt the IMF meeting and the country would easily receive the second tranche under the 9-month $3bn Stand-By Arrangement. However, market experts feel that the release of $710 million would not open the doors for other inflows as it did in the first week of July when funds started flowing in from Saudi Arabia and the UAE following the receipt of the first tranche of $1.2bn from the IMF. Currency experts said there is no inflow in the pipeline in the coming months, especially after Israel’s war on Gaza. Earlier, the government set up a Special Investment Facilitation Council to attract foreign investment, particularly from the Middle East and to sell them important assets of the country.