The two indicators tracing the monthly performance of the rupee against the main foreign currencies show that our currency has been losing ground since September 2019. In general, the choice of currencies was made by their importance in the trade flow between Mauritius and the rest of the world.

Let's first take the MERI1 index – Mauritius Exchange Rate Index 1. It is a basket of the main foreign currencies that govern our trade. Against this group of currencies, the rupiah lost 0.6%. The Central Bank mentions this in a document published on its site on Monday, December 7.

Next, let's look at the MERI 2 index. The currency components are those that dominate trade and tourism revenue. Thus, we end up with a depreciation of the rupee, a drop of 0.6% according to the available data.

Year-to-date, against a basket of trade-oriented currencies, we note an average depreciation of 11.3%.