INDIAN RUPEE : FOREX FLUCTUATION & INDIAN POLICY REFORMS

Here is a good article from today's Business Standard Newspaper in Mumbai.
Rupee fall pares India Inc's profit by a fourth in Q2

If the weakness in the INR continues, upcoming FCCB redemptions, USD denominated foreign Currency borrowings and the rising cost of imported raw materials will continue to add to the woes of Indian Corporates in the results of the third quarter.

Many blame the INR weakness on FII selling in the Indian Equity markets.
While FII selling has played its part, I feel the ongoing Government policy malaise and concerns over the Government's Fiscal Deficit continue to weigh down the INR.
Currency downgrades by the Rating Agencies will add to the downward pressure on the INR.

Also, it's about time that the Indian Government gets down to implementing many long delayed reforms.

Some sectors in dire need of reforms
POWER SECTOR - Poor financial health of State Electricity Boards (SEBs) is forcing them to resort to  load shedding of power even as Power producers are left with surplus power that they are unable to sell. These SEB's must move towards a market determined pricing of power sold by them to distribution companies.
Merchant Power sales and Power trading are also facing many unresolved policy issues.
Under construction Ultra Mega Power Projects also face uncertainities due to fuel linkages (read: Coal allocation issues and royalty issues on Coal imported from Indonesia).
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MINING SECTOR - Confusion over a proposed Mining Tax, profit sharing with locals displaced by Mining projects, Land acquisition delays and mining scams and corruption have delayed many Mining & Smelter projects.
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FERTILIZER SECTOR - Partial implementation of the Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme (NBS) and the delays in decontrol of Urea pricing have compounded the problems of the sector. Heavily subsidised Urea fertilizer has resulted in farmers opting to use Urea over DAP fertilizer. Excessive use of Urea has upset the balance of soil nutrients and has thus resulted in lower crop yields.
Any further delay in decontrolling Urea fertilizer pricing will add to government subsidies as the government continues to import Urea shortfall from overseas. A weak INR will add to the cost of imported Urea fertilizer.
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TELECOM SECTOR - The ongoing 2G scandal and corruption cases continue to dominate news in the telecom sector. What the government must take a look at is reforming regulations that will promote consolidation in the Telecom sector. Recent issues of 3G roaming should also be clarified by the TRAI and the government, to avoid any further uncertainty in this sector.
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AVIATION SECTOR - A combination of ''below cost '' fares by Air India,  record high ATF prices, ultra competitive air ticket prices, and record high debt of the airlines themselves has resulted in some serious structural problems in the Indian Aviation sector. FDI limits in Indian Aviation will have to be liberalised and a more viable tax structure on ATF will have to be worked out, if the existing carriers are to survive as going concerns. Perhaps the government will have to look at the development of "Low cost airports'' from which the Low Cost Carriers can operate, given the expensive Landing and Parking Costs at the country's main airports.
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OIL SECTOR - Massive delays in implementation of a clear and viable Gas Pricing policy is delaying further development of Oil and Gas Blocks in the KG Basin. Until this vital issue is resolved, Fuel Linkage issues of Power & Fertilizer Plants will not be resolved. The longer it takes for this Gas to reach the market, the more will be the delays of construction of new Power and Fertilizer Plants.
Also the" retail fuel pricing - under recovery problem" of the Oil Marketing companies (OMCs) remains unresolved. Massive subsidies on retail fuels sold by the OMCs have weakened their finances over the last decade.
A weak INR+ high Crude Oil price is adding to the under recovery burden of the OMCs.
If the government fails to move to a market determined pricing mechanism for Retail fuels soon, these OMCs will soon need to be bailed out by the government.
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All in all, it's about time that the government takes a step forward, and gets downto resolving these 'bottle neck' issues that are plaguing the Indian Economy at the moment.

If some of the supply side issues are worked upon, then perhaps the subsequent drop in inflation and an improvement in the government's fiscal deficit targets, will help the INR to regain some lost ground.

THE INDIAN RUPEE - WEAKNESS CONTINUES.....

The continuing weakness of the INR vs the USD is starting to worry both investors and regulators alike. Negative FII fundflows in the Equity markets is adding to the weakness of the INR.

At a time when inflation continues to be persistantly high, a weak INR will add to India's already increasing Crude Oil import costs.

The Equity Markets in India are preparing themselves for forex loss announcements from companies that import their raw materials and those that have large Foreign Currency borrowings.

We are now surpassing levels last reached during the heights of the financial crisis in the first quarter of CY 2009, just after the Lehman Crisis!

Energy and commodity prices were far lower in March 2009 than they are right now; so the Government and especially the Central Bank (R.B.I) will have to come up with some strategy to stabilize if not support the INR at current levels.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

PIIGS 10 YEAR GOVERNMENT BOND SPREAD vs BUND

The Crisis in the Eurozone continues with the markets rallying and then selling off to the twists and turns of ''political'' newsflow.

Its too early to know what the final writedowns will be or who will be the ultimate counterparty that must bear the losses of an era of  ''imprudent'' lending.

Its going to take a whole lot of political will and large writedowns  + bailouts in the financial srctor before we are back to any kind of 'normal' again.

In the meantime rallies in the markets should be rented, not owned!

ps: I will get back to regular posting soon.

INDIAN RUPEE - WEAK ASIAN CURRENCY

The Indian Rupee has joined its Asian peers and has weakened against the USD over the last few  months.

A weak Indian Rupee will make India's Crude Oil imports more expensive and thus add to inflationary pressures.
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A weak Indian Rupee will also hurt the profitability of Indian Corporates with large USD denominated borrowings.
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On the other hand, a weak Indian Rupee will boost the profitability of Indian IT exporters and export oriented Crude Oil Refineries

Watch this space!!

EURO : UNDER PRESSURE

COPPER - --CORRECTION

Copper prices have sold off in recent weeks.

A slowdown in the developed world  is resulting in slowing chinese demand.

The recent rebound in the oversold USD has been accompanied with a sell off across asset classes, and Copper has been no exception.

Question is, are we headed into a global recession and is Copper just flashing a warning sign?

GOLD : VOLATILITY AND HOW!

As expected, Gold prices finally corrected from recent highs.

Many Gold bugs are panicking and as prices plunge, & investors are wondering if Gold's mega rally has finally run out of steam.

Firstly, I continue to believe that Gold's long term fundamental story is still intact.
The current state of govenment finances  combined with the ongoing post bubble debt deleveraging will mean that Gold will continue to retain its safe haven status.
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Secondly, Gold has not suffered any serious technical damage on its long term chart.
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Thirdly, a pullback in prices was long overdue after gold's monster rally from a sub $1500 price level.

Below is a link with some interesting charts.
Bull and Bear case for Gold, Silver and Stocks -- Looking at the chart below, gold prices have pulled back after testing the upper price band (Red line) of the chart.

Could we see a pullback to the green trendline like the 2008 correction?
As someone rightly said--Never say never!

Lastly, I would advise Goldbugs not to panic, but to just hold on patiently for now.
The troubles of the US Housing & Financial sector of 2008 have now morphed into stressed government finances and Sovereign debt crises of 2011.

In 2008 many corporates (especially in the financial sector) were downgraded by the rating agencies.
In 2011 several governments have had their Sovereign Credit ratings downgraded.
Once again the Credit rating agencies are raising red flags rather late in the day!!!!
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As David Rosenberg recently pointed out, the aftermath of a post bubble debt deleveraging saga is no 'garden variety' recession.

Gold is still the last refuge in this storm, but investors will have to learn to ride out some mega volatility and corrections along the way.

GOLD : TIME TO TAKE A STEP BACK NOW

Gold continues it's fantastic run.

Just a word of caution to the permabull gold bugs.

The 50 day ma is at $1675.80 & the 200 day ma is at $1495.30.

After rallying by almost 47% over the last year, we could see a sizeable pullback without doing any technical damage on the charts.

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In the meantime, continuing concerns of the sovereign debt of Club Med , Central bank interventions in the currency markets (like the SNB yesterday)and debt and deficit worries in the U.S.A. will continue to support gold prices. Expect more volatility ahead of President Obama's Speech on ''job creation'' and Ben Bernanke's speech this week!

GOLD - LONG TERM CHART

GOLD : Overextended after a massive run : more volatility to come

After testing $1900, gold prices have corrected sharply. In the near term prices continue to remain overextended, well above supporting trendlines at $1640.

I continue to remain a long term bull, but would once again remind readers that in the short term, gold prices will continue to be volatile and reacting to options expiration and the FED's Jackson Hole meeting at the weekend.

Here is a fantastic chart from Jesse's Café Américain - a super site for all gold related news and excellent unbiased market analysis.