With the rupee fast losing value against the U.S. dollar, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday blamed volatility in global commodity prices for currency depreciation and said deteriorating balance of payment (BoP) situation in several Asian countries also put stress on currencies.
“In several Asian countries, except China, the BoP is under stress, which leads to currency depreciation,” Mr. Mukherjee told reporters.
Mr. Mukherjee, who is attending 45th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank Board of Governors here, said certain fundamentals in the Indian economy have to be corrected against the backdrop of the rating agency Standard and Poor’s downgrading outlook for the country’s sovereign rating.
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Mr. Mukherjee, who will assume chairmanship of ADB on Saturday, said the global issues, which have a bearing on the Asian economies would be discussed at the meeting.
The main areas of concern for Mr. Mukherjee were eurozone and Japan, as they provide a big market to the merchandise from the developing world.
“Unless recovery in Japan and Europe is fast-tracked....it will have its impact. Eurozone crisis is expected to cast its shadow...,” he said.
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Mr. Mukherjee said the Asian region is still doing better than the developed countries. “We will review the world economy...the (Asian) region is one of the important contributors to the world economy,” he said. India will be hosting the ADB annual meeting next year in New Delhi.