Rupee set to shed gains, weaken to 65 if dollar revives: Reuters poll

Chinese yuan is forecast to weaken to 6.90 per dollar a year

In 12 month's time the Chinese yuan will have erased most of its gains made this year, provided the US Federal Reserve sticks to its tightening path, boosting the greenback, a Reuters poll showed.

Having strengthened more than 3 per cent since the start of 2017, the yuan is forecast to weaken to 6.90 per US dollar in a year, according to the poll of over 60 foreign exchange analysts taken July 27-Aug 2.

It was trading around 6.72 on Wednesday.

While the US dollar should benefit when the Fed starts shrinking its balance sheet, which it has said it expected to do "relatively soon", it could falter again if the central bank fails to follow through with a rate hike later this year. 

At the start of the year, traders had expected faster rate hikes from the Fed and some form of stimulus from the new Trump administration would drive the dollar up strongly against emerging currencies.(economy policy)

But, the greenback has instead taken a beating on fading hopes that President Trump will be able to push through deep tax cuts and massive infrastructure spending.

That has brightened the outlook for Asian currencies.

Strong Chinese economic data over recent months has cooled worries over the yuan's weakening, leaving further scope for the People's Bank of China (PBOC) to tighten the country's domestic liquidity conditions.

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Will UP under Adityanath go the Bihar way and ban liquor?

There have been violent anti-liquor protests led by women across cities and smaller towns in UP

 

Following the Supreme Court (SC) directive to shut down liquor vending and serving within the 500-metre radius along the highways, coupled with the rising spate of violent anti-liquor protests led by women across cities and smaller towns in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the last few days, the state could possibly be slowly going the Bihar way in prohibiting liquor.

The incumbent Yogi Adityanath government has already issued stern directives to the district and police authorities to adhere to the SC and high court orders with regards to sale of liquor and take punitive action against liquor shops flouting the rules.

To add another dimension to this development, UP has been witnessing furious street protests in major towns and semi-urban centres by local residents with a fair and active participation by women against liquor retail shops in Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut, Gonda, Kushinagar, Saharanpur, Auraiyya and others.

Owing to the SC order, the liquor shops have started shifting away from the highways and settling in the midst of populated pockets, posing fresh challenges for local people and also maintenance of public order, safety and health.

Demands are already being made in the state to prohibit sale of liquor in UP on the lines of Bihar, where the Nitish Kumar government had promulgated Excise Act 2016 proclaiming prohibition in April 2016.

The act contains provisions to punish anyone carrying liquor and raid suspected premises. The law declares 11 years jail for offenders, while adult members of a household could be punished if liquor is found in their premises. The ban on liquor had been one of the most populist pre-poll promises by Nitish in the run up to Bihar poll, and even in the face of stiff opposition and criticism, he has stayed put with the ban.

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