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Most Bullish Forecaster Sees Indian Rupee at 67 on Modi Return

Rupee may strengthen to 67 per dollar by end-June, a level last seen in June 2018, according to Scotiabank’s Qi Gao.

Most Bullish Forecaster Sees Indian Rupee at 67 on Modi Return
Indian two thousand and five hundred rupee banknotes are arranged for a photograph in Mumbai. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) --

India’s rupee is likely to outperform Asian peers to reach its highest level in a year as the prospect of Prime Minister Narendra Modi securing a second term lure more foreign inflows, the most bullish forecaster for the currency said.

The rupee may strengthen to 67 per dollar by end-June, a level last seen in the same month last year, said Qi Gao, a currency strategist at Scotiabank in Singapore. That compares with a median forecast of 70.13 in a Bloomberg survey. Another rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India in its June policy, will also help boost local equities and bonds, said Gao.

Most Bullish Forecaster Sees Indian Rupee at 67 on Modi Return

The rupee rallied the most since December on Monday as stocks hit a record high after exit polls signaled Modi’s return to power for a second term. Actual results will be known on Thursday, when the votes are counted. The rupee was little changed Tuesday at 69.77 per dollar.

--With assistance from Kartik Goyal.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ragini Saxena in Mumbai at rsaxena30@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Arijit Ghosh at aghosh@bloomberg.net, Anto Antony, Pradeep Kurup

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