The exchange rate of the Indian rupee (INR) strengthened its declining trend after the start of 2018 to fall to a record low of INR69.09 per US dollar on June 28. The rupee has been hovering around the low range in August. As is the case of other emerging currencies, the rise in the US interest rates was the major cause of the depreciation of the rupee, with the rise of oil price likely spurred the decline. The rise of crude oil tends to rapidly increase the imports of India as India is heavily dependent on imports for its energy consumption including crude oil.