APPRECIATION AND DEPRECIATION - ECONOMY

News: BJP govt responsible for rupee depreciation against US dollar: Selja

 

What's in the news?

       Congress leader Kumari Selja blamed the BJP-led Centre of being responsible for the continuous depreciation of the Indian rupee against the US dollar due to its “wrong” economic policies.

 

Depreciation:

       In the foreign exchange market, it is a situation when domestic currency loses its value in front of foreign currency.

       In the floating exchange rate regimes, the value of a country’s currency is determined by the market forces of demand and supply.

       A currency depreciates with respect to foreign currency when the supply of currency in the market increases while its demand falls.

 

Reasons for Currency Depreciation:

       Declining exports leads to a fall in export revenues and thus the demand for a country's currency reduces and it depreciates.

       A large increase in imports due to increased demand for imported goods can weaken the exchange rate due to the net outflow of currency.

 

Appreciation:

       In the foreign exchange market, if a free-floating domestic currency increases its value against the value of foreign currency, it is appreciation.

       Appreciation of currency takes place when the supply of the currency is lesser than its demand in the foreign exchange market.

       If a government sells sovereign bonds, it will lead to an inflow of foreign capital (say in $); thus the supply of $ will increase leading to the appreciation of currency.

 

Reasons for Currency Appreciation:

       Current Account Surplus can cause an inflow of foreign exchange in the economy leading to appreciation in the exchange rate of the domestic currency.

       Increase in exports can increase the demand for the domestic currency leading to its appreciation with respect to foreign currencies.

       Higher economic growth can increase foreign investment in the economy which can cause appreciation in the exchange rate.