In an article published today in the Wall Street Journal about emerging markets plunging currencies and stock markets:
"Indian and Indonesian currencies were battered Wednesday, with both the rupee and the rupiah continuing a recent downtrend, reflecting investors' concerns over growing trade imbalances and slowing emerging-market economies.
"Indian and Indonesian currencies were battered Wednesday, with both the rupee and the rupiah continuing a recent downtrend, reflecting investors' concerns over growing trade imbalances and slowing emerging-market economies.
The two countries have taken the brunt of a selloff in Asia, as their widening trade deficits and rising inflation leave them especially vulnerable to the impact of global fund managers withdrawing investments from Asia amid signs of accelerating growth in the U.S. and Europe. The Reserve Bank of India and Bank Indonesia have pursued a variety of strategies to reverse the trend, including raising interest rates and intervening in foreign-exchange markets, but so far they have failed to stem the slide.
India's rupee was at 67.10 to the U.S. dollar on Wednesday afternoon after reaching 68.60 earlier in the day—close to a record 68.80 hit on Aug. 28.
Dealers said India's central bank has sold dollars several times in recent weeks. The RBI says it intervenes in the currency market only to curb volatility and not to target a particular exchange rate.
The rupee's slide,it is down 19% in the year to date.
Indonesia's rupiah reached 11,125 against the dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday, its lowest level since April 2009. It is down 14% in the year to date.
The possible US military strike to Syria,could spur oil prices higher boosting their already high energy import bills".
