New Delhi, August 18: Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha today ruled out any immediate hike in interest rates in the face of sharp depreciation of rupee saying it was "temporary and manageable" and there was no cause for panic."It is a temporary phenomenon," he told Lok Sabha, adding "though the situation is difficult, there is no cause for worry as our economic fundamentals are strong and the country has enough foreign exchange reserves to meet seven-month imports."Sinha, however, said there was no room for complacency and the Reserve Bank was handling the situation extremely well by curbing excessive speculation to check volatility.About the members' concern that the rupee might touch Rs 50 to a dollar, he said "let us not give in to soothsayers. There is no reason to panic." He said the interest rates were reduced by 200 basis points since March this year to boost industrial recovery and "we have now increased it by 100 basis points in the face of rupee depreciation"."At the moment, the situation does not warrant any further increase in interest rates," he said.
